


Lesbians in Space

by kidskylark, kiwisandwich (panconkiwi)



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Alternate Universe - Space Opera, F/F, Illustrated, M/M, Slow Burn, TAZ Big Bang 2018, The Adventure Bang 2018
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-30
Updated: 2019-05-23
Packaged: 2019-08-07 16:00:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 62,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16411565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kidskylark/pseuds/kidskylark, https://archiveofourown.org/users/panconkiwi/pseuds/kiwisandwich
Summary: Carey wants to meet up with her friends and live a life of adventure without the Guard breathing down her neck. Killian is on a mission to find, retrieve, and punch someone really hard. Neither of them expected their journeys to converge, let alone lead them to the lost moon of Phandelver.A story loosely based on Here there be Gerblins, minus the gerblins, in space! Written for The Adventure Bang 2018.





	1. Cover

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Español available: [La Teoría de Phandelver](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18320561) by [kidskylark](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kidskylark/pseuds/kidskylark), [panconkiwi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/panconkiwi/pseuds/panconkiwi)



> Welcome to our Big Bang project! This story has been six months in the making with the help of the amazing [Ara](https://kidskylark.tumblr.com) and [Jonny](https://shenaniglenn.tumblr.com), who made the illustrations you'll find, and [me](https://archiveofourown.org/users/panconkiwi), your author and best friend. We'll be posting a chapter every other day so you get the full story as soon as possible ~~while I still reap those sweet cliffhangers~~. I can't tell you how excited I am for you to read it!
> 
> A couple notes before we begin:  
>  ~~0) The title was a place holder until I thought of something better but it's been six months and I just couldn't bring myself to change it so here we go~~  
>  1) The story will feature some fantasy (SciFi?) racism, as in xenophobia, some stereotyping, and interracial discrimination ( **not** slurs/slavery).  
>  2) The minor ships in this fic are Johavi, Magnulia, Blupjeans, and Taakitz, which don't have enough screentime to earn a tag, but I still mention to give you a heads up.  
> 3) This is where I put a disclaimer for any wrong English BUT Ara, Jonny and Nak, who are native, helped me out this time. So this fic is perfect now, you are welcome. (?)
> 
> Enjoy your read!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cover art by Jonny (@shenaniglenn)


	2. Escape

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Header and Garfield art by Ara (@kidskylark)
> 
> Special thanks to [Nak ](http://naktine.tumblr.com)for helping me beta-read this chapter <3

Avi turned his corner about one minute and six seconds after he was supposed to. He didn’t know this precise detail about his schedule, of course; as far as he was concerned, he was doing a good job. His stroll was quick but firm, a quality necessary when you worked at the Gaia Belt’s Detention Center; but there was, also, an extra spring to it. He seemed happy today. It wouldn’t last.

He checked on the inmates one by one, talking with authority but still addressing them as people. Deep down, they appreciated it. Carey sure did! He was fun, in that weird kinda way humans were. It almost made it hard to take advantage of him for the plan. But, you know, someone was going to get the short stick of that deal, that’s usually how prison breaks worked.

Avi reached Carey’s cell, the last one in that section, and crossed his arms. She eyed him from inside without a word, just sitting there, holding her knees. “Tsk, tsk. You’re late,” she scolded him.

Avi stared at her quizzically. “Am I now?” He checked his wristwatch, “It says here I’m on time.”

“Nuh-uh, you are a minute late.”

“Same difference.”

Carey huffed. “You don’t get time like I do, man. Sometimes you are having fun, suddenly it’s been five hours, then you’ve been sitting on a cell for what seems like a life sentence but the calendar says it’s been only a month.” Carey couldn’t pout, that was a mammal thing, but she did her best to appeal to Avi’s sentimental side.

Of course Avi wasn’t going to give in just like that, but there was more sympathy in his voice when he talked now. “Your original sentence was just two weeks. If you don’t want it to become an actual life sentence, maybe you should stop trying to break out every five days?”

Carey leaned against the bars of her cell, one arm hanging out. “You know me, Avi, I want to be good, but being caged does things to your brain.” To that, Avi rolled his eyes. “When I’m here, it’s like time slows down. You wouldn’t get it.”

Avi sighed. “Trust me, I do. Besides, there’s a whole field of psychology solely dedicated to time perception. I’ve been reading about it lately.”

“Huh, really?” said Carey, like she didn’t bring it up exactly because of that.

“It’s really interesting. You see, it has a lot to do with the way our brains focus on things…” All in all, Avi was a good conversationalist, to the point it was like a superpower. He had the ability to strike a conversation out of almost any subject. The guy didn’t consider himself smart, just curious, but in Carey’s opinion that was way better. She was considered a smart kid growing up, and look where that got her.

Ah, good ol’ Avi. Carey was going to miss him, really, but she also wanted to leave. Without him even noticing, the plan was already set in motion.

Avi and Carey talked for about ten minutes. It even got to the point where some inmates around them joined the conversation; you had a lot of time to think about deep stuff when you were behind bars, and Avi didn’t let anyone who joined feel left out. They had a good time talking, until-

 _Beep! Beep! Beep!_ , the alarm on Avi’s wristwatch went off, startling him. “Oh my god, it’s this late already?!”

“See, time flies when you are having-” Carey didn’t get to finish that sentence before Avi stormed out the hall, mumbling apologies and cursing himself, “-fun”. She laid back on her bed again and counted to ten. “Speaking of flying, tell Avi I’m sorry when he comes back next week.”

“Why don’t you tell him yourself?” teased one of her fellow inmates, earning a laugh from a bunch of the others. Carey flipped him off.

“I’m not coming back.”

“You said that last time too,” said the guy in front of her.

“And the one after that,” said the guy to her right.

“And-”

“I get it! I’ve acted recklessly in the past, I know, but I have a plan now!” And just to prove her point, she fished a key set out of her pocket.

The inmates’ eyes widened at the sight, but only before they all remembered the cells there had an electric lock. “That won’t get you anywhere.”

“Oh, these? They’re Avi’s. Poor guy, forgetting his keys at work. Somebody has to give them back!”

Carey had another means of getting out, one that she was smart enough to keep as a last resort, because it would only work once. Sparks started to shine at the tip of her horns, one whole, one broken. Carefully, she raised one claw to the lock and slipped it in between, going down slowly.

There was a click.

One of the inmates started to laugh. “So that’s why there’s been so much static around lately!”

In all honestly, Carey was relieved she hadn’t triggered any alarms, but there was no way for her to know if they kept a registry of all the times a cell was opened around. Better to assume the worst and get out quickly. “Bye, guys!” she said as she grabbed onto the bars of her door and climbed up, until she was hanging on the ceiling.

“Look, she’s gonna do it.”

One moment she was there, and the next she melted into the shadows. The other inmates started to clap.

“Shhh! You’ll blow my cover!” And she crawled out of the hall.

Now that part one was done, this was where things started to get complicated.

Carey had been to a lot of prisons in her life, but up until now she had managed to get out before they were even done processing her. The Belt was different, this was No Man’s Land, they dealt with the worst of the worst on a daily basis. She was warned about this place before and didn’t take it as seriously as she should have.

In the span of one month, Carey had tried a total of six escapes, all of them failures thanks to the guards, cameras, convoluted ventilation systems, or just plain bad luck, but mostly a lack of planning on her part. It wasn’t that Carey didn’t think, she just took a lot of risks; you couldn’t afford to think things twice in her line of work, and a moment of hesitation could get you killed.

However, this time Carey had a plan, and it would get her out of that damn prison, with an 80% chance of success.

(She just invented that number, you know, for confidence.)

Like most asteroidal buildings, the precinct was built downwards, with about five levels under the surface. There were five floors ahead; five floors between Carey and freedom.

She crawled inside a ventilation cell and made the trip to the elevator with practiced ease. The vent had no way outside of the floor, something she found out on her second attempt of escape, because this precinct had a really fucked ventilation system. However, that was enough this time. Carey looked down from the ceiling at the guard in front of the elevator, carefully unscrewed the lid under her, and waited. Ten minutes later, Avi rushed into the hall from the last row of cells.

The guard at the door, a human woman, greeted him. Avi, sweet Avi, managed to greet her back while still fishing his ID out of his pocket. “Chill, man, it’s only quarter to six.”

“I still have to return the keys and check out, and it’s Friday! The shuttle line is going to be crowded as hell!”

“You got plans tonight?”

Avi paused. “N-not really, just, you know! Weekends, am I right?”

He was definitively lying, and also blushing. Carey made a mental note to, if things came to the worst, at least tease him about it next time they saw each other. That train of thought quickly left her mind as he finally rescued his ID.

Avi swiped his card on the reader. Carey readied herself.

“Well, see you on monday!,” Avi was already running through the threshold when a clicking sound echoed behind him. He turned around and saw a set of keys sitting on the floor.

Stealing keys was an art, one that took practice and left very little room for mistakes. Carey rarely had the need for them, as her claws did the job just fine. However, art was also giving things new and unexpected uses, like, say, a convenient distraction.

“Shit! Sorry, could you-?”

“Sure.” The other guard bent down to pick the keys, and that’s when Carey crossed the threshold. “Here you go, be careful next time.”

“Thank you!” Avi walked into the elevator again without seeing Carey curled on the corner right above him, and the doors to the minus five floor closed behind him.

Avi left the elevator on the next floor. He sighed before stepping out, and then Carey was left alone. She quickly crawled to the center of the ceiling and clawed at the opening on the top. Time to be fast now. Unlike her cell, which wouldn’t be checked on for at least another half an hour, someone would notice the damaged ceiling on the elevator soon enough, and once that happened, it was lockdown.

Or, if someone caught her still inside. The elevator suddenly began descending, and Carey cursed under her breath as she worked on the lid.

Despite all of this, Carey wasn’t afraid. One could even say she thrived under the pressure. You didn’t go rogue if you didn’t like the thrill of danger, and while that path in life currently put her in prison, she never regretted taking it.

The ceiling finally opened up. Carey placed it on the top of the elevator and crawled out, then, with a quick motion, closed the gap behind her and prayed it wasn’t too loud before the _ding!_ from inside signaled the opening. She could hear a muffled conversation taking place inside. Good, if they were busy they wouldn’t notice the gap on the ceiling. Hopefully it wouldn’t be too obvious.

But this elevator was going down now, farther away from the exit. Carey looked up, then spat on her hands and jumped as high as she could, an eight foot vertical leap, and she grabbed the cable with both hands and legs. She was so small the elevator didn’t recoil under her weight.

Carey kept pulling herself up after the cables stopped, one, two, three, four floors up. She got to the ground level in a matter of minutes. The door was closed, as expected, but there was a ventilation entrance on top of it, so Carey crawled in.

This was the part that had messed with her third or fourth escape attempt: the ventilation in this damn place wasn’t connected between floors. On her first attempt, she crawled in from the vent around the cells and tried to find her way up, but older buildings like this one had one oxygen chamber per level, unlike better built places Carey was used to. Like, what the hell, this was already an awful place to be in, the cells were uncomfortable and the food was tasteless.

Now, crawling through the ventilation wasn’t going to be the end of it just because this time she was on the right floor. Forming an idea of the layout of the building had taken six painful attempts at escaping, and those times she didn’t get far enough nor was in the best position to gather enough information, so she was practically going blind. But she had an idea of what exits to take to get closer to the entrance, and as far as she could tell all floors followed the same pattern of distribution among their rooms.

Carey turned left on an intersection. In front of her, a big fan blocked the way. _Not for long, you won’t._ Carey concentrated all of the energy she had built up in the past month, and with both hands clawing at the fan, she discharged.

Loud whirring, then a _bang!_ , and the turbine slowed down, filling the ventilation with black smoke. Someone on the room under Carey yelped, followed by an, “Uh, should we call someone?”

Carey covered her face with the neck of her shirt. The smell was terrible and her eyes were watering, but she had to endure it for a little longer.

A couple coughs, then, “Just get out,” and Carey quickly sat down and pushed the fan with all the strength she could muster. It was heavy as fuck, she had to kick it once, twice, three times to create a gap big enough for her to get down.

She fell inside an office with a few desks and stacks of papers filling every flat surface. She couldn’t even take a second to get her breath back before jumping to the ceiling again and crawling above the door, which opened just a second later.

She made her exit covered in smoke and only a moment to think of a place to hide in the hall before it all dissipated away. Over there! She fell to the floor and rolled behind two copy machines.

Carey peered from behind her hiding place, unnoticed among the small chaos, and found the exit just thirty feet from her. She could sprint that distance in six seconds, maybe less. All she needed was one last distraction and…

And that’s when she noticed Avi.

He was looking at the scene like everyone else in the reception, but while others were brought in out of curiosity, his expression was the one of someone deep in thought.

Avi grabbed his walkie-talkie. Carey couldn’t hear him from her position, but she didn’t need to. “Check the cells. Now.”

Carey leaped from behind the copy machine. Someone yelped and a group of onlookers had to be pushed aside, too bad! Any chance of a clean exit had gone down the toilet!

Avi sprinted after her one second later and Carey didn’t have the time to think before snatching someone’s bag and throwing it right at Avi’s feet, making him trip.

“Stop her!” Avi yelled from the floor.

Nobody was fast enough. Carey crossed the entrance and breathed in the stale air inside the dome that covered that area of the asteroid. It smelled like freedom.

“Somebody catch her! Carey!”

Carey skipped the line to the closest shuttle and pushed the poor guy at the front. The shuttle started, she fell on the seat, breathed in and out, and looked back at the asteroid as it became smaller and smaller. If she squinted, she could still see Avi.

Carey struck her tongue out.

***

####  `>Travel Log 8.25.2364-1: I’ve reached the Gaia Belt. Will stop for fuel and ask around for information.`

***

“Come on, pick up, come on, come on…” Two hours later, Carey found herself on a small asteroid, perched at the top of the only building around in an attempt to find signal. The burner wasn’t the best model around, but it was what she could afford with the little money she could pocket on her way to the gas station.

_“Hello?”_

“MAGNUS!”

_“Ouch!”_

“Whoops, sorry.”

_“Who is this?”_

“Magnus, can you hear me? It’s me, Carey!”

_“What?!”_

“Carey! I said I’m Car-”

 _“CAREY!!”_ Magnus yelled in her ear. She almost dropped the phone, by the gods, did that man have an strong voice. But she loved to hear it again. _“You’re free! I missed you so much!! Guys, it’s Carey! She got out of jail!”_

_(“Took her long enough.”)_

_(“Who?”)_

_“The guys say they missed you too!”_

“And I, you, big guy. Look, I’d love to catch up, but I’m standing on the tip of my tail on the roof of an _I Hate Mondays_ in the middle of nowhere, and I don’t know how long will the signal last. This phone is shit, it’s like I’m talking to a rock. I need you to pick me up, they’re looking for me as we speak.”

A whistle awas heard from the other side of the line. _“Sure, which one was that again?”_

“The one where we paid the waiter to play twenty-one rounds of _What’s New Tabaxi_ ”

_“Ha! I can’t believe they didn’t ban us that time. Anyway, I’m afraid you’ll have to wait there for a little longer, we got a mission on the edge of the solar system three weeks ago.”_

“Oh shit, Goblin?

_“Nah, Phandalin.”_

“Damn, that’s still far. How long is that?”

_“I mean, no more than a week’s travel, total? We’ve goofed around here and there. You think you can hang in there that long?”_

Well, it wasn’t like she had any more options. “I’ll manage.”

_“Cool! We’ll meet you there! And don’t lose your blood!”_

“Can’t promise. See ya!”

And the call ended. Carey got down of the ceiling with a minor ache on her tail, but an optimist attitude.

By the time she got back inside the _I Hate Mondays_ , the music act was already almost over. Carey found a seat at the bar and let Johan do his magic. He was one of the waiters at the diner, but the manager let him do his thing every Friday. Truth to be told, Johan was an outstanding musician, but the Gaia Belt was so far removed from civilization any chance of a talent scout magically finding him was slim. One day, Johan, one day.

“THIS IS A FACE I HAVEN’T SEEN IN A WHILE.”

Carey almost jumped out of her seat “Shit, man! Can you not be weird tonight? I’m a little jumpy.”

The Tabaxi behind the counter stared at her with half-lid eyes and a knowing grin. “THEY DIDN’T LET YOU OUT FOR GOOD BEHAVIOR, DID THEY?”

“That’s none of your business.”

“HMMMM. SPEAKING OF BUSINESS…”

Carey sighed. It was a shame the only place to get good food this side of the belt was attended by the creepiest guy in the galaxy. “Just get me something deep fried and very salty, I haven’t had a good meal in ages.”

The bartender obliged, filling a plate with greasy looking chips. Carey stared hypnotized as he poured salt on them, and reached forward…

The cook pulled the plate away from her.

“Hey!”

“I’M JUST THINKING. YOU’VE BEEN INCARCERATED FOR A MONTH, DO YOU HAVE ANY MONEY WITH YOU?”

Shit. Right. “Uh, you see, I had to get myself a phone first, you know…”

“MHM. THAT’S A PITY THEN.” He hid the plate under the counter.

“Wait! Maybe I could pay with…” she shuddered. Oh, how she hated this guy. “Other means.”

“I DON’T NEED YOUR BLOOD ANYMORE, THANK YOU.”

“What?! Why not?!”

“DRAGONBORN BLOOD HAS VERY LITTLE USE TO MY PATRON THESE DAYS, I’M FINE WITH THE QUANTITY I’VE GOTTEN FROM YOU IN OUR PAST DEALINGS.”

Well, shit. Carey felt a little relieved, if she was being honest, but she was still hungry! It had been a really long day.

“BUT,” the bartender added, “I COULD USE YOUR HELP TO ACQUIRE OTHER INGREDIENTS.”

Carey stared at him wide-eyed. “You want me to steal blood from people?!”

“THAT’S AN AWFUL WAY TO SAY IT.”

“It’s exactly what it is!”

“THEN YES.”

The music had already stopped, so that was one good thing less in Carey’s life.

Gods, she hated this fucking guy. “What am I supposed to do? Hide behind someone’s back and pinch them?”

“YOU ARE THE EXPERT THIEF, I SUPPOSE YOU HAVE YOUR OWN METHODS,” he leaned forward, as if to try and speak quietly, like he didn’t have that high-ass voice. “BUT THERE’S MORE THAN ONE WAY TO GET BLOOD FROM OTHER PEOPLE.”

“So you want me to pick a fight in your own place? That I can do.”

“THEN WE HAVE A DEAL,” he extended his paw and shook Carey’s claw enthusiastically.

“Welp. What do you need? Human, Dwarf, Halfling?”

“I WAS THINKING OF SOMETHING A LITTLE MORE RARE, LIKE…”

The door to the diner opened and everyone went quiet for a moment. A woman walked in. Big, green skin, long black hair tied in a braid, and wearing the coolest pair of leggings Carey had seen.

An Orc.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey did you know Goblin is a real planet that exists in our solar system? You do now


	3. Two Travelers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Scene art by Ara (@kidskylark)
> 
> Special thanks to [Nak ](http://naktine.tumblr.com)for helping me beta-read this chapter <3

There was nothing unusual inside the diner, the people looked as you’d expect a handful of tourists and workers to look like, and the smell was _strong_ , like walking into a wall of oil and salt. In a place like this, the only one out of place was Killian.

She coughed; everyone went back to minding their own business.

Behind the counter was an orange and fat Tabaxi, talking to a small Dragonborn while looking at Killian with poorly disguised interest. She walked straight to him. “‘Evening.”

“WELCOME. WHAT CAN I GET YOU, FRIEND?”

“I’m not hungry. Have you seen any suspicious looking people around?”

“OH, YOU DIDN’T KNOW? THERE WAS A PRISON BREAK EARLY TODAY.”

The Dragonborn at the counter had a coughing fit.

Killian shook her head. “Anything else?”

“I’M AFRAID NOT, THIS IS A VERY BORING PLACE. MAY I OFFER YOU SOMETHING TO EAT?”

Might aswell. “I’ll get a table.”

The people at the counter returned to their conversation as Killian found a spot open near a window. From this point she could still see her ship while the station worker filled it up. It would take a while, so she had enough time to eat and maybe not think, let her mind rest.

But it was hard. Every time she stopped was time she was not out there, searching, actually getting _somewhere_ with this. Killian didn’t feel tired yet, just restless.

“Ahem.”

She turned her head towards the waiter, a half-elf who looked like he couldn’t care any less for his job.

“What’s the special of the day?”

“Fried Mystery.”

Killian raised an eyebrow. “What’s in that?”

“It’s, uh, a mystery?”

“Fair enough.”

The waiter wrote her order and left in the same mood as he came, and Killian went back to her business. She got a little notepad from her pocket and wrote down all the things she’d learned in the past weeks for the millionth time. Maybe there was something she wasn’t seeing…

Her arm moved first, then she noticed shadow of a blade on the table. The knife fell to the floor with a _clink_ that suddenly felt too loud after her sudden movement startled the rest of the diner. And her hand was now clutching a Dragonborn’s small arm.

“What,” Killian said slowly, “do you think you are doing?”

It was the Dragonborn from the counter, who now stared at Killian wide-eyed. She didn’t look scared, only surprised. Killian hadn’t seen or heard her coming until the very last second, so this was someone with a proficiency for going around unnoticed. An assassin?

“W-well, you see… You have a very punchable face.”

Killian raised an eyebrow. Or maybe she was just a bored rogue. “My face.”

“Yes. I can’t stand it, so I had to come here and punch you.”

“You want a fight?”

The people at the closest table dragged it further away, even the sound of frying from the kitchn seemed dulled. The Dragonborn’s tail had recoiled for a second, and she was so small, for a Dragonborn, and compared to Killian. This fight would end easily.

“I’m not interested, sorry,” she said, and let go of her grip.

The Dragonborn stuttered. “But- You- I called you punchable!”

Killian growled, “Look, I don’t have time for this. You should find other ways to deal with your pent up energy,” and she turned to her book again.

The Dragonborn made as if to say something else, but backed down eventually and left Killian alone. Just then, her food arrived; it was a bit cold, probably from the waiter making sure it was safe to walk in. The mystery tasted like fried food alright, and Killian decided the best she could do was not give it more thought and just eat.

***

Carey sneaked her way back to the bar, to show that Orc how good of a skilled fighter she just missed, and not because she felt a little embarrassed. Well, what did she know about her pent-up energy?! Carey had a healthy and active lifestyle going on adventures and breaking out of jail.

“WELL, THAT’S TOO BAD.”

“Shut up and just give me my damn chips.”

“OH, BUT WE HAD A DEAL, REMEMBER?,” the bartender pointed at the new patron. “YOU WERE TO BRING ME SOME ‘SAMPLES’.”

“Ugh, you’re disgusting. Besides, I won’t be paying in blood anymore,” she placed two coins in the bar and winked, holding the woman’s wallet on her tail.

“HA. VERY CLEVER.” And he gave Carey the plate.

Finally, she munched.

Now that that was taken care of, Carey had a chance to relax for the first time in hours. Waiting for Magnus and the boys to pick her up inside the _I Hate Mondays_ didn’t sound so bad now; the service station near had showers, and Carey could steal money as she needed it.

Technically, her biggest concern was to stay away from authority’s eyes, but this place was far enough from the rest of the asteroidal colony. Even looking out the window you couldn’t see another settlement, only floating rocks, faraway stars, and whatever ship stopped in there to refuel before a long trip, just like that Guard ship landing right about…

Uh-oh.

Carey filled her mouth with the last of the chips and jumped behind the bar. The clerk looked at her, puzzled. “YES?”

“Just keep quiet! Did the Guard ship land?”

The bartender seemed to find the whole situation pretty fun, so he complied. “THE SHIP IS PARKED, YES.”

“Okay. No big deal. Must be a rutinary stop, just to refuel.”

“SOMEONE IS GETTING DOWN.”

Carey gulped. “That doesn’t mean-”

“THEY ARE HEADED RIGHT THIS WAY.”

 _Fuck._ Carey dared to peer from behind the counter, just long enough to tell if it was someone who would recognize her. Maybe they were from another district? No, she could see the uniforms they wore on the belt, and…

Carey ducked behind the counter again. “Oh, you gotta be shitting me!” Avi! It was Avi walking right into the IHM! Of course it had to be him of all people.

“I NEED YOU TO GET OUT OF HERE, PLEASE.”

“No! Listen, that guy out there is after me. I don’t know how he got a hold of my location so fast but if I stay hidden long enough, maybe I’ll shake him off my trail! Please!”

“I’M SORRY, SANITARY RESTRICTIONS ARE VERY STRICT.”

“What restrictions? This place is a fucking mess!”

The bartender stared at her with his half-open eyes not blinking for even a second, and he did not break eye contact until Carey removed herself from behind the counter through the side.

From behind some chairs, she watched as Avi walked in. He had lost the early spring to his step, barely keeping himself from dragging his feet. This was the last thing Carey wanted, she knew Avi would have to deal with most the mess after she left but actually seeing him? He was like a puppy in the rain! This wasn’t supposed to happen!

And how had he even found her? Was she chipped? No, that discharge earlier would have fried any electronic device. Did he track the shuttle? It was parked on a different asteroid. Maybe he deduced the trajectory? What was this man? What did Carey have to do to be free once and for all?!

If he asked at the counter just like the Orc woman did, it would be over for her.

But Avi didn’t walk towards the bar or even look around the diner. Instead, he made a beeline to a table at the end, next to the bathrooms, and sat down.

Carey trailed after him. Clever, that way he could catch her if she tried to sneak from the back. Avi checked his wrist watch, then turned his head towards the farest corner of the place, where they kept the extra chairs, only it was empty now because Johan moved them away on Fridays for his show…

Oh.

Avi checked his wrist watch one last time, and sighed.

_Oh._

Carey sneaked away. Suddenly, she didn’t feel bad about taking advantage of Avi twice on the same day.

In all escape plans, the priority was finding a distraction and a means of escape, and they were both talking to each other.

“Just a minute, it must be somewhere in here…,” the Orc woman was emptying her pockets on the table while an impatient Johan watched.

“Let me guess, you left it in your ship.”

“No, I’m pretty sure I had it with me when I got here.”

“Yeah, pretty sure.”

”I’m telling you, if you give me just one minute…”

“I’m calling the manager.”

“Woah! That won’t be necessary!” Carey butted in with a charming grin and handful of money on the table. Johan and the Orc looked at her with varying degrees of surprise, none and a lot, respectively. “I’ll take care of it.”

“Hold on,” the Orc covered the money with one hand and pushed it towards Carey. “You don’t need to do this.”

“Even as an apology? I acted like an idiot back then, I just wanted to say sorry.”

The Orc woman had a mixed reaction to that, but in the end she let go of the money. Carey gestured towards Johan to take it. Before he finished counting it, she leaned in and whispered: “There’s a little extra for you, I need a favour.”

“If it’s another twenty-one rounds of _What’s New Tabaxi_ , I’ll get you banned _for real_ this time.”

“None of that!” Carey raised her hands in the universal gesture of ‘I’m up to no good but it’s the other kind of no good’. “You see that guy sitting at the end?” and she pointed at Avi, who was still sulking.

“You mean Avi?”

“Good, so you’ve met before! Go strike a conversation with him for the next, let’s say, ten minutes.”

Johan turned at her like she had just suggested forty-two rounds of What’s New Tabaxi. “You want me to _talk_ to him? That guy is the biggest introvert I’ve ever met.”

Carey had to fight the urge to laugh at that. “Really? He seems like the chatty type.”

“The guy is a wall, I’ve never been able to hold a conversation with him before.”

“So, you’ve tried.”

Johan ignored that. “What am I supposed to talk about for ten minutes?”

“I’m sure you’ll find something. Just go, _pleeeease_?”

He stared blades at her, but in the end he still got his notepad out and went to take Avi’s order.

Carey watched the scene unfold from her end of the diner. The moment he saw Johan, Avi’s mood improved drastically. He smiled, said something, then there was a pause, Avi laughed awkwardly, and there was another pause.

Wow, that was painful. But Johan stuck to his mission, and hopefully those ten minutes would be enough to get Avi back to his usual, charismatic self. _Sorry for getting you in trouble, buddy. Don’t mess this up!_

Now that the compensation/distraction was in order, Carey just had to make sure her exit was clean. She turned around, already saying, “By the way, now that we are on good terms, may I ask for a-?” But the Orc woman was already walking towards the door.

“Wait!” Carey yelled, then covered her mouth and ducked. _Stealth, stupid!_ She caught up to the woman through tables and chairs. “Wait, miss,” she whispered in the most urgency her voice was capable of conveying without raising it.

The Orc woman looked at Carey from over her shoulder. “What?”

“Could you give me a ride?”

It wasn’t the absence of an answer as much as the look of incredulity what told Carey this woman wasn’t going to be very cooperative.

“Listen, I know we started off on the wrong foot...”

“ _We?_ ”

“Okay, _I_ was a little rude over there, and I’m really sorry about that. I paid your meal, remember?” She didn’t mention the fact that the money used to pay for it, let alone Carey’s own drink, was actually the Orc’s.

The Orc woman turned around and kept walking. “Sorry, I’m on a schedule.”

Carey circled the Orc until she was in front of her, walking backwards. “I just need to get outta here! Nothing far, it doesn’t even need to be outside the Belt!”

The Orc woman stopped and raised an eyebrow. Okay, she was considering it. Carey gave her a couple more steps of space just to not come in too strong.

Then she tripped on a waitress.

All conversations came to a halt when the dishes and a cups all broke on impact, accompanied by the poor girl’s yelp as Carey crashed onto the floor.

“Shit, are you okay?” said the Orc woman, rushing towards her.

“I’m so sorry!,” said the waitress. “I’ll get something to clean this,” and left the scene in a hurry.

“I’m fine, I’m fine, it’s nothing, I just…” Carey looked up to see the hand the Orc woman was lending her. She looked actually worried for her, a stranger that had only threatened her and asked for a favor in less than an hour.

_Oh. She’s kind of a softie._

Carey didn’t need help getting up, but she still took the woman’s hand. She pulled her up with such ease it almost made Carey dizzy. “Thanks, you didn’t have to-”

“YOU!” Came a voice from the other end of the diner. Avi stood up so fast and looked so angry even Johan was startled.

Carey gulped. “So, about that ride. This is a very good time to get going.”

The Orc woman let go of her hold. Carey turned at her, hoping that was a “you're right, let’s bolt” gesture and not-

“You are running away from the Guard?!”

“Okay, just because he has an uniform doesn’t mean I’m running from _all_ the Guard.”

“Carey Fangbattle,” said Avi, taking his gun out and pointing it at her; the people at the diner screamed and hid under their tables. “You are under arrest for breaking out of prison!”

Carey raised her hands. “Come on, man! That’s privatel!”

Avi didn’t lower the gun for one second as he slowly approached her. “You… Do you have any idea of all the trouble I got in because of you?! They’re going to demote me if I don’t bring you back!”

“It’s nothing personal, I swear! I’m just not meant to be inside a cage.”

“Your were charged for pick-pocketing! The original sentence was fifteen days. You’ve literally spent twice as long trying to get out!” Avi was a mere ten feet away from her now. “You would have been out weeks ago if you just behaved.”

The only people standing now were Carey, hands up; Avi, pointing a gun, Killian, hands up too and looking like she really didn’t have time for this; and the manager, who watched the scene like it was the most entertaining shit ever. Asshole.

“Sorry, man…” Carey walked back until her back hit the wall. “But I can’t go back!” Carey grabbed the pepper on the table with her tail and threw it at Avi, but he deflected it swing of his arm. The glass container crashed in front of him.

“I won’t fall for that twice on the same day!”

Carey didn’t have time to think, so she didn’t. “New plan, then!” And she swiped the pepper with her tail, producing a cloud of dust.

“What are you-?” But he couldn’t finish that thought as an sneezing fit took over him.

Carey made her exit through the front door. She ran into the parking lot, not like she had any options, but at least in there she could hide.

Avi’s voice echoed somewhere behind her a moment after. “There’s nowhere to go this time, Carey!”

“So? I’m an expert in hide and seek! I could do this all day!”

“You don’t have that long! I can get reinforcements here in a matter of minutes. Just come with me now before they add resisting arrest to your charges.”

“What if you don’t call them? Just pretend you never saw me, go back inside, get Johan’s number already.”

There was a long pause in which Carey assumed Avi was, in order, freaking out because she knew, freaking out because could Johan hear them?, and coming to the conclusion that the diner was too far for that. “Okay, one, that is none of your business. Two, _I’m trying okay I just don’t know how to talk to him because he is at work and I don’t want to put him in an awkward situation_. Three, there’s no way I’m letting you go now!”

Carey rolled her eyes. “I could get his number for you, Romeo.”

“I said that’s none of your business!”

That was closer, shit. Stupid impulse to taunt, calling attention to herself. Carey climbed up on the biggest ship around and laid down. Where was Avi? He wasn’t talking anymore, which was the _actual_ smart thing to do in hide and seek. Carey didn’t hear him to the right, nor to the left. Carefully, she raised her head to look around…

“Just sit up, that can’t be good for your back,” said Avi behind her.

Carey raised her hands and slowly got up. “And I thought climbing here was a good idea. They do say great minds think alike.”

“But fools rarely differ.”

Carey turned around and saw Avi pointing at her from the ship next to hers. “Now, don’t be so down on yourself.”

Avi blinked. “No, I mean, that’s how the saying-”

He was cut off by the rumble of a turbine going off. One of the ships, a medium-sized delivery vessel, took off and was now flying towards them.

No, not them. Her. It was going straight for Carey. She was about to jump out of the way until she saw who was driving. The ship stopped next to her, then a door burst open. “You have five seconds to get in,” said the Orc woman.

It took Carey two. “Thank you so much wonderful woman whom I owe my life now and forever-”

“Just call me Killian.”

“Thank you, Killian, thank you, thank you, thank you!”

Carey closed the door behind her and, for the second time that day, watched the land get smaller as the vastness of space took her in.

Although she didn’t know just yet, she wouldn’t be back on firm ground for a little longer.

***

####  `>Travel Log 8.25.2364-2: No new information. On my way to Neverwinter. Picked a new passenger.`

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Meanwhile, Johan is trying to come to terms with the fact that Avi is actually cool


	4. Three Days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carey: NO FEAR  
> Killian: It's a three day trip to Neverwinter  
> Carey: ONE FEAR

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today’s road trip playlist is brought to you by [Glow](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Glowstickia/pseuds/Glowstickia), who has [the best taste in music](https://8tracks.com/glowstickia)

Reception in space sucked. Carey was holding her phone so tight that, were it not a burner, she would have crushed it by then. But she could _swear_ she saw a little bar lit up a while ago, so maybe…

There it was! She quickly dialed Magnus’ number, and…

####  `We are unable to place your call at this time, please try again later.`

Carey screamed.

“Everything okay back there?”

“Yes,” Carey lied.

Killian gruntled. “If you are getting motion sickness I’ve got pills for that.”

“I don’t get motion sickness! I’ll have you know I’m an experienced space traveler.”

“Mhm. You clung to the walls those times too?”

Carey looked down, because she was, in fact, hanging on a wall. She leaped down and tried her best to not look how jittery she felt, although her tail wasn’t helping at that moment. “Okay, first of all, this has nothing to do with motion sickness.”

Killian was currently sitting at the captain’s chair, one hand on the handle while the other navigated the control panel. She turned around just to raise an eyebrow at Carey.

“It’s just, you know, I’ve been a bit… confined lately.”

“You were in jail.”

“Yes, whatever! We’ve all made mistakes.”

“Like breaking the law?”

“Like getting caught. Anyway, I’m still a little moody, and this piece of shit phone is not cooperating!”

“You won’t get anything from it or any other phone this deep into space.”

Carey fell to the floor and groaned. “But we got signal for a second there.”

“Those are just leftover waves, you can’t make calls with those. But if it makes you feel better, we are on the course to Neverwinter. Does it work for you if I leave you there?”

Carey’s tail started wiggling. “Really? Yes, that’d be awesome!”

“Alright then, I’ll drop you there in three days.”

Slam! Carey’s tail hit the floor so hard it made the doors of the cupboard shake. “Three days?!”

Her burst caused a small, low laugh from Killian. “What were you expecting? We are almost two AUs* away, it’s a long trip.”

“But that’s a very long time! Can’t you go faster?”

Killian turned around again, staring at Carey like one would a child who asks too many dumb questions. “We are going at two million kilometers per hour.”

Suddenly, Carey was starting to feel that motion sickness.

“You sure you’ve traveled before?”

“Y-yes… Well, those times we quantum jumped.”

Killian huffed. “You need a massive engine for that, only private space lines can afford it. I mean, no offense, but tourism doesn’t count as ‘space travel experience’”

Carey gasped indignantly; a small spark shot from the tip of her broken horn in embarrassment. “Excuse you! I’m not a tourist, I’m a _mercenary_. Transportation costs are part of my budget.”

Killian chuckled again. “Well, I hope business is still good after people find out you were in jail.”

Carey huffed. “Are you kidding? That’s a boost on my reputation. Nobody wants to hire a rogue who’s afraid to have a brush with the law or two,” Carey wondered if they’d put up her mugshot around the belt, talk about free publicity. It could make her job harder if it expanded to the rest of the solar system, but you didn’t waste that many resources on a petty pickpocketing incident. Not like she was planning on coming back any time soon.

Getting caught had been a mistake on her part, true, but she wouldn’t make that mistake again, or get to the point where pickpocketing was the only way out. Hopefully Magnus would hook her up with a good gig once they got in contact again… in three days.

Carey sighed. “Sorry, that was kinda ungrateful of me, you did just save my tail from another eternity in jail. I’m worried my friends will get to the belt before I have the chance to tell them I’m not there anymore.”

“Hm…” Killian hummed to herself. She didn’t seem to mind Carey’s recent outburst, not that Carey would have held it against her. “Have you tried texting them? That way the message would get across next time we pick up signal regardless of you being fast enough to catch it.”

Realization hit Carey like a bucket of cold water. “You are right! Why didn’t I think of that before?!” She picked her phone from her pocket once again and opened the messaging app, no time to lose!

If anything, Killian at least seemed to have fun, even if it was at Carey’s expense. “Glad I could help. I think that’s a good way to wrap up this day." From the corner of her eye, Carey saw Killian get up from the control panel, click some buttons, and looking through the drawers near her. She got a pillow and blanket and offered it to Carey. “There are no beds in this ship, but the chairs recline.”

“‘S fine by me,” Carey replied, still texting with one hand, and walked to the co-pilot’s chair with the pillow and blanket in the other.

 _Click, click, click._ Wow, writing on a numeric keyboard was so slow. Next stop she was getting a better phone, for sure. But for now, where to start?

Suddenly, Killian’s figure loomed over her seat. And maybe it was the angle, or the way Carey was sitting, but she looked especially threatening. “By the way, I assume this isn’t worth mentioning, but if you try to steal anything from this ship, I’ll shoot you into space.”

Carey gulped. “Of course.”

“Good! If you need anything just wake me up.” Killian left to her own chair and, with a clap, all the lights on the ship went off, leaving Carey’s phone and far away stars as the only source of light.

***

####  ` **(! ERROR: NO SIGNAL FOUND. THE FOLLOWING MESSAGES COULD NOT BE SENT !)** `

####  `Dear Magnus **(!)**`

####  `I’m writing to you **(!)**`

####  `You read that right, and at all, because it seems I’ve gone back to the planetary age **(!)**`

####  `That’s sorta ironic considering my actual location is space **(!)**`

####  `Just. Space **(!)**`

####  `I’ve been trying to contact you for hours now but you know how it is outside orbit **(!)**`

####  `Once in a while we pick-up some signal, but it’s unstable and low **(!)**`

####  `And by the time I get to grab my phone to call you it’s already gone! **(!)**`

####  `So I guess I have a better chance getting my message across like this **(!)**`

####  `Anyway, I’m free! **(!)**`

####  `Again! **(!)**`

####  `(I had to leave the gas station right after I called because someone from the local Guard spotted me can you believe it!) **(!)**`

####  `But I’m good now! **(!)**`

####  `I got a lift from a kind stranger, we left the belt, and have been traveling together since. **(!)**`

####  `Three days inside a ship with barely enough room for the two of us. **(!)**`

####  `Yep. **(!)**`

####  `This is exactly what I pictured freedom would be like after weeks inside a cell **(!)**`

####  `:^) **(!)**`

####  `I want to fucking die **(!)**`

No, that last part was bummer, even if it was true. Getting the guys worried wouldn’t make any good to her situation, and by the time they read all that she would already be back on firm ground, so the only use of it was venting.

Carey deleted the last five messages.

####  `Anyway PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don’t look for me on the belt, I’m not there anymore **(!)**`

####  `AND WRITE BACK WHEN YOU GET THIS OR I’LL GO MAD **(!)**`

####  `Your best friend, Carey **(!)**`

***

Part of keeping your sanity during long trips is sticking to a routine. Killian woke up the next day at exactly seven am, just like every other day before that. She cleaned herself up on the small bathroom of the ship, changed clothes, went to make some coffee…

Only this time, she almost tripped on her way to the coffee machine. Keeping her balance was easier than keeping the small Dragonborn sleeping on the floor from shocking her.

“Who is this what do you want I won’t hesitate-!” Carey’s sparkling stopped when she saw Killian. “Oh. Right.”

“Sorry, I didn’t see you there. I’m a bit slow in the mornings…” she looked at the trail made by the blanket on the seat to Carey’s current position on the floor. A rogue that was a messy sleeper was kinda ironic. “You ok?”

Carey yawned, sticking her long, bifid tongue out before curling it back inside. “‘S fine, what time is it?”

Killian checked the clock on the panel. “Seven twenty two.”

“I see.” Slowly, Carey’s body hit the floor, and again she was sleeping. It was adorable, especially when she wasn’t climbing all over Killian’s stuff. Carefully, Killian picked Carey up and put her back in the chair, then continued with her own routine.

By eight am, she was already sitting at the control panel. After checking the trajectory, she opened up her journal.

“New entry. I’ve left the belt, comma, but I’m still on the lookout for asteroids, stop. Will proceed with caution, stop. Two days before we reach Neverwinter, stop. End of entry.”

Things were quiet for a couple hours, but Killian was used to traveling alone by this point, and she had too many things on her mind to ever get bored.

Like her next stop, Neverwinter. Where to look? It was the biggest planet in the Faerun system. And there were the moons, too. She took a look at her notes and jotted down some options. Maybe running this through Madame Director again would be good, wouldn’t hurt to pay her a visit, there was a lot of ground to cover and two minds were better than one.

And what if she didn’t find Brian there? He wasn’t at home, he wasn’t at the Bureau, he wasn’t by the belt, and something told Killian she wouldn’t find him in such a crowded planet as Neverwinter. That coward, overdramatic bastard, couldn’t make his escape anything but complicated…

No, thinking about Brian made her angry, so she focused on something else. She opened up a map of the Faerun system and stared at it, tracing her journey with a finger and running all the possible routes, taking more notes and cleaning them up for when she talked to Madame Director.

And so, time passed without her notice, until the sound of Carey getting off her chair brought her back to the real world. “Hey. Good morn-,” she looked at the panel’s clock, which marked three minutes past twelve, and corrected herself. “‘Afternoon”

Carey waved at her, still disoriented but at least less sparkly than earlier. She mumbled something and Killian pointed to the bathroom in hopes of understanding what she meant.

“Do you need some clothes?”

“Nah, thank you,” she said as she crossed the door. A couple minutes later, Carey emerged from it with a fresh face and a cheerful attitude. “So! You a delivery person?”

“Huh?” A what? Killian just stared at Carey until she remembered the ship she had been driving for the past month. “Oh! No, a friend of mine lent this ship to me some weeks ago.”

“You on a job?”

Killian huffed. “I wish I was being paid for this.”

“Don’t we all!,” Carey laughed. “Where are you going?”

That was the big question. Killian side eyed her notes, sitting at the top of the panel, and when Carey saw them too she whistled. “All of those? Wouldn’t it be faster to just buy a ticket?”

“Yes, but it’s a lot more expensive, too.”

Carey leaned on her chair with her legs folded under her, looking at the window in front of them. “How do you do it? Like, no offense, but I’ve been on this ship for less than a day and it’s already getting on my nerves. How long have you been on this?”

“About three weeks. Well, I guess it’s getting closer to four now.”

“Woah, four weeks all by yourself?”

Killian shrugged. It’s not like she wanted it to end this way, but at least traveling alone wasn’t so hard when you had a mission.

However, that was _her_ case. Space travel wasn’t for everyone, and it seemed Carey took it a little worse than normal.

Killian had been facing forward the whole conversation, to keep a lookup for any hazards on their way. One of the stars, the one that shined the most, was Neverwinter, and there was still a long way to get there.

“It is hard, especially if you are alone. But I’ve learned that you don’t know true peace until you fly across space.”

Carey didn’t say anything at first, which prompted Killian to glance at her. She was raising an eyebrow. “I mean, if you call a complete lack of anything peace, then sure.”

Killian laughed. “Well, some people might differ, of course. It is kinda disturbing if you think too long about it.”

“Yep.”

“And yet,” Killian continued, “I find peace in that, knowing I have nothing else to worry about for a while. Maybe it’s because I always have so much in mind. Moments like these when you can just give yourself time and think things calmly are rare on the surface.”

“Yeah…” Carey trailed off as she seemed to think of some things on her own. “I mean, not like I ever take the time to think. I’m more of an act first, regret later person.” She laughed. “This conversation got kinda deep fast, huh.”

Killian covered her face with one hand. “Oh my god, I totally just rambled to you, didn’t I? Sorry, it seems I’m not taking this traveling alone thing as good as I thought.”

“Ha! It’s fine, what else are we supposed to talk about? There’s no weather in space.”

“I guess you are right.”

There was another bit of silence.

“But, like,” said Carey, “have you got anything to listen to? Music, radio?”

“There are some songs stored in the system. Wanna put some?”

“Hell yeah!”

Killian pressed a known combination of buttons and a panel opened between her and Carey. “There you go. I have to warn you, though, my friend is into the old stuff.”

“I’m not picky, as long as it’s music I’m game for anything- [what year are these from?!](https://8tracks.com/glowstickia/cruise-control)”

“Two thousands.”

“Like, _early_ two thousands? This is ancient! I can’t believe I’m going to be three days listening to music that’s older than my phone.” Carey said, but she still picked a song.

Five minutes later they were both singing along.

***

####  `CAREY!!! THAT’S SO COOL!!!`

####  `wait shit am i supposed to write like a letter or`

####  `Esteemed Miss Carey Fangbattle,`

####  `I am happy to hear you are well`

####  `*read`

####  `Worry not for our arrival, we haven’t yet parted from our current location, as some problems have arisen`

####  `Take all the time you need to reach Neverwinter, we’ll be there in two weeks`

####  `Best regards,`

####  `Magnus Burnsides, your best friend`

####  `You fucking nerd lmao`

####  `YOU STARTED IT!!!`

####  `see you lizard girl`

***

There was so much time Carey could stand sitting on the same spot, and the music didn’t really do anything to keep her still, so she found herself up sooner than later. She didn’t touch anything after Killian’s polite warning last night, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t snoop around.

Her current priority was looking for something to read on the ship’s library, one of the few shelves that weren’t locked. However, there was little to nothing that picked her interest. “Why are all of your books so dense? Astronomy, Navigation, Calculus?”

“Not my ship, and not my books. Besides, all of those are things you should know to drive a spaceship.”

“I mean, I get it, but you should have something a little lighter around.” Carey kept looking, until she finally found the only reading material that wasn’t a thousand pages per volume: a magazine stack of something called… “‘ _Mysteries of the Universe’_? Is this for flying, too?” She picked one only because it looked colorful, especially in comparison to the other books on the shelf, and hey, it had pictures.

“Wait, those are not-” Killian called from her seat, but Carey was already nose deep in the magazine.

She had a laughing fit. “This is ridiculous!,” and really, that was the only way to describe it. All the articles in it were about myths and conspiracy theories from all around the galaxy. “I’ve heard about some of these before, but there’s so many in here! And everything is so far fetched! Are there really people who think the sun is empty? How does that even work?”

“They believe it’s like a balloon, because of the helium.”

“Oh, you’ve read them?”

Killian sighed. “Yeah.”

“Do you believe in these things?”

“Of course not! It’s just a light read. Those conspiracies are so absurd it’s like shutting off my brain for a couple minutes.”

Carey looked at Killian, then at the magazine, then at the stack on the shelf, then back at Killian. “You still like them enough to bring a whole stack of them with you, though.”

Killian turned back and glared at Carey so hard it made her jump. “What of that?”

“Nothing!” Carey yelped, then put the magazine back with the rest and kept looking around.

***

####  `Her name is Killian, btw`

####  `who?`

####  `The kind stranger`

####  `oh!`

####  `She’s chill! A bit of a nerd but the cool kind of nerd`

***

Some snooping around later, Carey found a deck of cards laying around, and with some convincing she managed to get Killian to agree to a couple games while they had lunch. They were now on their second round of joker while munching on some of that space travel food.

“Sorry if the food is a bit tasteless,” Killian said as she reached for a card; she was a slow player, thinking carefully about the cards position and even Carey’s face before picking. It took her a minute to decide on a two of diamonds. “Most of the stuff I have around is made to last over providing a gastronomic experience,” and when she was done saying that, she put a pair of twos on the pile and offered her hand to Carey.

She just picked a card. “Eh, ‘s fine, this still beats the stuff they gave us in jail. Aw, yiss,” she completed a pair of fives and offered her hand to Killian. “Besides, I think there’s still salt in my mouth from the chips at the _I Hate Mondays_.”

“God, you are right, how much salt does a single dish need…?” The last part of that sentence trailed off as she considered every single card in Carey’s hand, again.

“It’s pretty standard IHM cuisine, you’ve never been to one before?”

“Never in my life, are they a chain? Yesterday was the first time I’ve been in one.”

“You are not their target audience.”

Killian raised an eyebrow. “What does that even mean?” It must have taken her by surprise, since she ended up picking a random card. It was the Joker. She grimaced.

Carey snickered. “It’s the kind of places you only come across if you are lost in life. ”

Killian sighed and shuffled her cards behind her back. “I guess that’s true.”

 _Huh, that’s interesting._ Carey reached for the hand that was being offered at her and picked the first card to the right, it was the Joker. “Are you maybe lost, Killian?”

Bingo. The woman tensed up a bit and looked down at her hand, now only down to three cards. “This is just part of my route.”

“Oh, that’s interesting,” Carey said, “since last time I checked, this part of the belt wasn’t on the shortest path between Neverwinter and Orcus. Sorry, I’m just assuming that’s where you come from, since Orcs aren’t pretty common here in the outer half of the ring,” and just to mess with Killian, she shuffled her cards carefully before offering them to her.

That was probably more than what Killian could deal with at the same time, so she either had to keep her head on the game, or her secrets. “I had business on the Gaia Belt,” she finally said, and by sheer luck got the Queen of clubs from Carey’s hand. Now she was down to two cards.

As for Carey, she didn’t care about what cards to pick anymore. There was another game keeping her attention. “It’s the kind of business where you frequent diners in the middle of nowhere asking for “suspicious looking people”. Yeah, I know about _that_ kind of job.”

There was no answer, but Killian’s face told Carey everything she wanted to know. Oh, and she didn’t get the joker! She put the two cards face down on top of the discard pile just to add more flavour to her clever schemes. Two games one in one night!

Killian didn’t seem to find it amusing, though. She picked up the empty packages of food and stood up.

“Woah, hey, don’t you want to play another round?”

“I have to fly this ship.”

“Leave it on autopilot a little longer!”

“That’s a waste of fuel. You can play without me.”

Carey looked at her with her best puppy eyes, but Killian wasn’t looking her way anymore. Damn, was it the showmanship at the end of the game? Stupid, stupid need to taunt.

She tried to play solitary, but the subject of Killian’s “business” was all she could think about now, and anything that kept her mind away from the crushing pressure of a confined space in the middle of space was good. So she picked up the cards, shuffled them, put them back where she got them, and attempted to make small talk.

***

####  `I think she’s hiding something`

####  `about what`

####  `Everything! Duh!`

####  `Who on their right mind drives to the belt?`

####  `Shady people that’s who`

####  `didnt she save your ass like, a day ago?`

####  `That’s besides the point`

####  `I’m getting to the bottom of this`

####  `carey, be careful`

####  `Don’t you wanna know the goss?`

####  `OH I DEFINITELY DO`

####  `but dont go back to jail please`

####  `no goss is worth it`

####  `I’ll try my best!!`

####  `Be back at you when I get more info`

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Irl an Astronomical Unit is about 150 million kilometres, or 93 million miles. To any astrophysicist reading this, it’s just added flavor, please don’t think I’ll stick to a scientifically correct narrative for the rest of the story.


	5. Gossip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carey and Killian smalltalk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And by smalltalk I mean bigtalk. This chapter is mostly dialogue.

For a wanted criminal, Carey was really bad at bluffing.

“So… Neverwinter, huh? You can do many things there.”

 _Don’t laugh, she’s trying_. “So I’ve heard.”

“Got anything in mind? Any place you want to visit? Not that I’m interested.”

“Yes.”

Carey leaned in from her chair. “Like?”

“The gas station, first. I need to refuel.”

“… Okay, and after that?”

“After that, I should get some food.”

“Yes, I get it, what else?”

Killian hummed, pretended to think on something.

Carey mimicked her humming, “Hm…?”

“Oh, right, I need a new toothbrush.”

 _Poof_! Carey fell back on her chair with a groan. Let her try, Killian could do this all day.

“Why do you ask?” Killian said with feigned ignorance, which took Carey by surprise.

“Uh, you know! I… want… options!”

“Options?”

“Yeah! While I wait for my friends!”

“Of course, you have to wait for them another week.”

Carey’s face fell for a moment, which probably wasn’t part of the bluff, but she quickly cheered up. “I’ll be fine as long as I have something to do, I’m pretty good at taking care of myself. And I won’t get thrown in jail this time.”

Killian couldn’t help the smile that crept on her face. “You really sound confident for someone who’s been on the run twice already.”

“Twice?” Carey huffed. “I already lost count. If I told you about all the trouble I’ve gotten into you’d be horrified, how do you think I lost my horn?”

“I bet it’s a cool story.”

“It’s the coolest, but I only tell that one over drinks,” she winked, Killian rolled her eyes. “I’m a tough girl, that’s why I know I can deal with another encounter when it happens.”

“ _When?_ ” Killian laughed.

“If! I meant if it happens! Shut up!” she struck Killian with her tail, but not strong enough to hurt her, and it only made Killian laugh again.

“So you’ve never been to Neverwinter before?”

“Oh, I have! Me and my friends usually group there after missions to chill and- wait a minute, are you turning my questioning on me?”

Killian raised an eyebrow. “So you _were_ questioning me.”

Carey slapped her hands over her mouth _really hard,_ and Killian had to fight the urge to laugh again. In the end she left her alone with a mumbled “gottagotothebathroombye.”

***

####  `Okay this is harder than I thought **(!)**`

####  `Killian sees right through me! She’s too smart! **(!)**`

####  `Got any ideas? **(!)**`

####  `Wait **(!)**`

####  `Fuck **(!)**`

####  `My texts aren’t sending are they **(!)**`

####  `Fuuuuuuuck **(!)**`

***

Maybe there was something around the ship that could clue Carey to Killian’s true intentions. Or they would be, if there was actual space to stuff clues around.

It didn’t matter how much he looked through the shelves, navigation books and conspiracy magazines. Hoping to find any relevant information there was like opening the refrigerator at night waiting for food to suddenly materialize. Aside from those, the only option was the set of locked drawers under the control panel. A lock was easy to pick, but not with Killian watching. Besides, Carey would rather not resort to that if she could help it.

What else, what else…

Carey picked another magazine and flipped through it without paying much attention… until she had an idea.

“Hey, Killian?” She only got a grunt for an answer, so Carey took that as a ‘go on’. “Is it true the Gaia Belt used to be one big ring made of rock that broke into pieces?”

“No, Carey.”

“Okay, just checking,” she turned the page, already feeling her new plan work. “On that note, is it true that Goldcliff’s rings are made of gold?”

“Not true either.”

“Cool. What about…”

“Look, the answer to any question you have about those articles is ‘no’.”

“Oh yeah? Even the ones that clearly say _Facts From The Universe_?”

Killian sighed. She sighed a lot, maybe she was a sighing kind of person, or Carey was starting to annoy her, which was her plan from the beginning. “No, those are actual facts. They put them there so it gives the whole magazine some credibility.”

“Well, they should pick their ‘facts’ better. I mean, ‘All of Orcus’ moons are stolen from other planets’?”

“Yep.”

“… Wait, what?”

“They were war ‘trophies’,” she said that last word with a hint of disgust. “Orc society was pretty fucked up back then.”

Carey just stared at Killian wide eyed.

“Don’t they teach you that in History class?”

“ _No?_ ”

“Well, the more you know.”

“I think I’ve learned enough for a while.” Carey returned the magazine to the shelf, and she could hear Killian laugh softly from the control panel. Killian: two. Carey: zero.

***

They say third one is a charm, and just half an hour later, Carey was back with an ace under her sleeve… or rather, the whole deck.

“I can’t play while I drive,” said Killian even before Carey could come up with another excuse to get information out of her. She was expecting a rebuttal, anyway.

“But,” there it was, ”I know a game we can play while you drive. You only need to listen and I’ll do all the work.”

That was the most suspicious premise Killian had ever heard, but she allowed Carey to go on with whatever this was, if only because it was kinda fun messing with her.

“Alright, I have a four color deck here in my hand, I’ll turn the first card, and each turn one of us has to guess if the next card is going to be higher or lower.”

“Sounds simple enough.”

“And,” Carey added, “to make things more interesting, whenever one of us gets it right, we can ask the other a question.”

“I don’t want to play.”

“No wait! Okay, how’s this: it has to be a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question.”

And then, Killian made the mistake of looking at Carey. She wasn’t pouting, Dragonborns couldn’t pout, but somehow it still worked on Killian.

“Okay, fine,” she turned back to the panel in front of her and waited for Carey to start.

There was a small “yes!”, and then Carey read the first card. “It’s a ten. Higher or lower?”

“What suit?”

Carey paused. “Does it matter? Diamond.”

Killian took a mental note of that and then answered. “Lower.”

“And the next card is… a Queen! Better luck next time.”

“Alright. Can you tell me the suit of that?”

“Spades. Do you want me to keep doing that?”

“If you don’t mind.”

“Not at all. I’m going to say lower, and we got… the five of hearts!” And just to make it clear she wasn’t cheating, Carey showed the cards to Killian. “Okay, let’s get down to business.”

Killian rolled her eyes, already set on dropping this whole game and telling Carey to go mind her own business.

“Is Killian your real name?”

She looked at Carey. “That’s it?”

Carey smiled. “Why, Killian, if that’s your real name. We are just starting!”

“Yes, it is my real name.”

“I see. Well, you go now.”

“Higher.”

“And it’s the eight of clubs. Ask away!”

Coming up with a question was harder than Killian thought, especially considering she wasn’t the one trying to snoop on the Carey’s life. In the end, she went for something easy. “Ever been to jail before last time?”

“Oof!” Carey huffed. “Straight where it hurts, huh?”

Fuck, that was still a sensitive topic. “Sorry, I can ask something else.”

“Nah, it’s fine. I’ve been taken in before, but never stayed longer than a couple hours. And you get the extra details for free just for being a cool gal.”

“Uh-huh, not because you don’t want me to think you are bad at your job.”

Carey winked at her, which Killian knew because Carey actually said the word “wink” out loud. “Alright, I say lower.”

And the game went on. Carey had learned a thing or two about subtlety in the short time she came out with this idea, and most of the questions she asked weren’t too invasive. However, she was good at this game, at least compared to Killian, which is why she got to ask her so many questions, even if mundane, at first:

“Do you like driving this thing?”

“Can’t say I hate it.”

“Do you believe those magazines you read?”

“No.”

“Do you wish any of them were real?”

“Ha! Some.”

“Ooh, which one?”

“Yes or no questions only,” and at that, Carey stuck her tongue out at her.

“Are you a dog person?”

“No.”

“Are you a cat person?”

“No.”

“Then what are you!”

“Yes or no questions only… but I like ducks.”

“Aw.”

Until, after some time, she started mixing in some _very_ specific questions.

“Do you know someone by the name Magnus?”

“No.”

“Do you know someone by the name Taako?”

“No? I’m pretty sure I’d remember that.”

“Do you know someone by the name Merle?”

“Are you just listing your friends to know if I’m after them?”

“You can ask on your turn,” Carey replied, but Killian saw briefly how she texted something with her tail under the chair.

“Ever been to jail?”

“No.”

“Ever committed a crime?”

“No. I mean, does illegally downloaded music count?” They both agreed it didn’t.

“Ever wanted to commit a real crime?”

“I guess? Who doesn’t.”

“WHICH-”

“Yes or no questions only.”

“Ever wanted to commit murder?”

“… Sometimes. But only when I’m really angry.”

“Ooh, I better watch out then.”

“You should.”

As for Killian, the questions she asked where overall harmless, and Carey was more generous with her answers.

“Have you ever been out of Faerun?”

“You mean like the system? Yes, but only once, when I was very young. I don’t remember much.”

“Have you been on every planet of the system?”

“Not yet, but I intend to!”

“Are you a dog person?”

“No, I’m a dragon person!”

“Good one.”

“Thank you.”

“You talk a lot about this Magnus friend, do you like him?”

“Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,” she gestured with her head and hands. “He’s not my type. Not that he is not cool or anything, but you know! And he’s married, his wife is super nice, and-”

“I get it, don’t worry.”

Carey laughed awkwardly. “Yeah, thanks.”

As time passed, Killian figured if Carey wanted to get nasty, then so could she, and tried to come up with ‘juicier’ questions herself.

“Hm… Ever stolen something under heavy surveillance?”

“Hell yeah!”

Well, she should have counted on Carey being unashamed of her lifestyle.

“Have you ever… killed someone?”

“Nah, it’s not my style.”

Killian tried to think of something better than that, but she wasn’t much of a gossip to begin with. In the end, she stuck to her simple questions.

The game was about to end, anyway. Only a fourth of the deck was left by then, and Carey was already starting to lose her lucky streak. “Gah! A five? This is bullshit!”

“Tough luck. You should have asked the best questions at the beginning.”

Carey looked at her suspiciously. “Wouldn’t you had refused to play?”

“Yep, and you get this answer for free.”

Carey rolled her eyes. “And I thought I was sassy.”

“We are just getting to know each other. Turn it around, it’s lower.”

Carey looked at the card on top of the discard deck, then at Killian. “You sure? If you ran out of questions you can just say so.” But when she turned the card around, her eyes went wide. It was a four of clubs.

“Let’s see,” Killian took her time, because she was really out of questions, “I don’t know, are you immune to electricity?”

“No, it can still burn me if it’s more intense than my natural resistance… hey, what was that just now? Higher.” Carey turned another card around, and sighed in relief when she got a King. “Nevermind that, are you a bounty hunter?”

“Nope. Lower.”

Carey muttered a soft “dammit”, but she still took in this new information and turned the next card, a six of spades.

“Have you… ever broken a bone?”

“Yes, several times. Higher.” Carey turned the next card. She screamed when she saw it was another four. “Seriously?!”

“Lower.”

And there it was, a three of diamonds. Carey really looked like she wanted to throw the cards away. “Are you winning because you are doing this backwards? Is that it?!”

“You can ask on your turn,” Killian said, not without a little amount of sass. “I can’t think of anything, honestly. Do you like Moon Tarts?”

Carey sighed in exasperation. “Who doesn’t like Moon Tarts? God, you are wasting all the right answers in boring questions!”

“Maybe you can ask better questions if you start winning.”

“Oh yeah? Oh yeah? I’ll win right now. I’ll win so hard. Higher!” And she got the two of hearts. “YOU GOTTA BE SHITTING ME!”

“Well, that was just plain bad luck,” Killian said. The deck was now down to three cards, so the odds were pretty even now. But you couldn’t lose with a two anyway. “Higher.”

“Of course it’s higher! I got a fucking two!,” she flipped the card and revealed another four. “See!”

“In your defense, there was only one two left, so your better guess really was higher. Have you ever broken something you were trying to steal?”

“Yeah, I’m gonna say higher again. And, boy, yes! There’s this really fun story from Goldcliff, we were hired to get inside the National Museum and retrieve one of the paintings without being noticed. It was huge, we even had a replica and… ” she turned the card around to reveal a five. “… Hold on.” Carey suddenly gasped loudly and pointed at Killian. “You are counting the cards!”

“Yep. Lower.”

“Wait, what do you mean ‘yep’? That wasn’t my question!”

Killian shrugged. “Really now? You got one right, asked a yes or no question, and I answered. Seems like it qualifies to me.”

“You cheated! You’ve been cheating this whole game!”

“How is counting the cards cheating? Any of us could do that, that’s how you play card games.”

“I know a couple thugs over at the casino who would strongly disagree with that. I knew you were hiding something, but this shady behavior is beyond what I expected! Had I known you were going to do this I would have…”

“What, cheated?”

Carey paused. She didn’t deny that, or even look ashamed. “Alright, there’s only one card left. If you tell me the exact number and suit of it I’ll crown you queen of High or Low forever.”

Killian huffed. “Wow, the stakes are so high,” she said. However, under Carey’s defying stare, and fueled by the game’s last turns, a pang of pride was starting to burn inside of her.

What the hell, if she was going to do this, better make it dramatic. She recounted every movement in her head, jotting down suits and numbers, until she was left with one final answer.

“Three of clubs.”

Carey turned the card around on the panel so both of them saw it at the same time, and both gasped when they saw the three of clubs printed on the cheap cardboard.

Killian raised her arms and yelled “Yes!” Then immediately put them back on the steering wheel.

Even Carey was clapping. “Holy shit! That was awesome!”

“I know! I am awesome!”

“And you remembered all the fifty two cards? Like, in your head? Without paper?”

“Is not as hard as it seems! Like, I have this list of every suit in my mind that I go over every time a new card appears.”

Carey whistled. “That sounds too complicated for me, but good for you! Now I know I can’t bet real money against you.”

“You would probably steal it back.”

“If you don’t break my arm like you almost did over at the IHM.”

They were both laughing now. Killian didn’t remember the last time she felt this invested on a simple game of cards, even if it had started as an excuse for Carey to be nosy.

And speaking of, she said, “Well, you know the rules, ask away! But please come up with something interesting this time!”

Well, not everyone could have a secret agenda of information they wanted to get. What did she know about this Dragonborn besides her work? She already boasted about it on her own, after all. There must have been a better route of questioning if she wanted to get to her.

She looked at Carey, and there it was, the detail that had struck her the most the first time they met. “Your horn…” she started.

Carey sat up straight and smiled proudly. “What about it?”

“Do you tell people you broke it on an unbelievably cool situation, when it’s actually something boring and mundane?”

In the span of five seconds, Carey’s face went through every shade between surprise and embarrassment. “T-that’s…! I-I’m not…! How did you-?!”

Killian laughed. “Is that a yes?”

Carey didn’t answer that. Small sparks started gathering at the tip of the broken horn, which Carey tried to stop the moment she noticed with somewhat successful results. “It’s rude to comment on someone else’s body!”

The thing was, Carey was being serious for a change. She crossed her arms and looked away, her tail was curled around her legs, her eyes focused on her hands, and some sparks still bursted from her broken horn.

That was a good way to ruin the mood. _Way to go, asshole._ “You are right, I’m sorry.”

Of course it would be a touchy subject, Dragonborns were known to be a proud race, even more than Orcs, and Killian already knew a lot about that. She had embarked on an interplanetary quest without leads merely out of a sense of duty, and what good had it even brought, a month later?

Killian sighed, she figured there was only one way to compensate.

“How about you ask me something for free to make up for it?”

Carey’s horn slowly ran out of sparks as she turned around to face Killian again. “Wait, really?”

“I asked about something you didn’t wanna talk about, I guess it’s fair if I tell you something about me.”

Carey’s mood lifted almost immediately. “WHO-?”

“We are still doing yes or no questions only.”

Yeah, Killian was probably going to regret this, but she figured she could still do some damage control this way.

Carey thought this one _really_ hard, wanting to make it count. There was so much to cover for such a limited answer. And yet, she managed to find the question that would get the most out of her.

“Is it personal?”

There it was.

Killian sighed, but she figured there was no reason to hide that at least. “I’m afraid so.”

And to her credit, Carey didn’t make a big deal about it. They didn’t say anything for a while. Carey fidgeted around with her burner phone, but Killian didn’t hear any clicking sounds, so at least she hadn’t run to tell her friends right away. For at least ten minutes, they stared in silence at the expanse of faraway stars in front of them.

But in the end, the one to break the silence was Carey. “You know,” she said in a natural way, like the conversation hadn’t stalled for as long as it did, “you get to know a lot of shady people in my business.”

Killian didn’t look at her at first. “Like you and your friends?”

“Oh, we are just goofs with low standards for making money. I’m talking about the really nasty ones. Crime lords, corrupted law enforcers, mercenaries who only want an excuse to wreck shit up and get dirty.

“But there’s also the gray ones, you know, people who mean no harm. They find themselves in less legal stuff out of necessity. When you are young they tell you lawbreakers are all greedy bad guys with guns. But the truth is, it’s more like a spectrum. I myself am not one hundred percent on the moral side, but I’m not straight up evil either!

“And yet, most people will turn around the moment they know what I do for a living. They don’t want to be associated with someone like me, even if I’m so damn charismatic.”

Killian laughed. “Well, that’s their loss.”

“I knew you’d understand, you obviously took me in for my charming ways,” and this time Killian turned around just in time to see Carey actually wink, instead of just hearing her say it out loud. “But I also understand if you don’t want to talk about someone who did you dirty if being associated with them will make you look bad.”

Killian already had an idea of where this was going, but she also noticed it was a conversation Carey needed to have, for her own sake. She only wished there was something she could say that would make Carey feel better.

She just couldn’t come up with anything.

“If you need help finding this suspicious looking person, and you think they might be doing something not so legal, I might be of help.”

Despite her own emotions, the heavy sense of duty crushing her shoulders, and the fact that thinking about him still made her feel _so_ mad, Killian smiled. “And I thought you were just being nosy.”

“Oh, I’m very nosy, it’s part of the job. But I also owe you big time for what you did at the Belt. And, you know, it can be hard making friends in a job like this, and being nice is free.”

Killian was actually taken by surprise by that. “We are friends, then?”

“Of course! We play cards on saturdays, remember?”

“If you put it like that, I guess it’s true,” Killian said. She paused for a moment, where she collected her thoughts and calmed down, just to not sound too angry when she said it then. “His name is Brian. A drow. Long hair, fancy clothes, speaks with an accent. Ring any bells?”

It was obvious Carey was not expecting Killian to tell her right away, but her initial surprise quickly left, and she regrettably said, “Never heard of him.”

Killian sighed, “Yeah, I figured.”

“But, wait! My friends might know! I’ll ask them right now,” and she showed Killian her phone as she started to type. “And even if they don’t, someone else might! Barry has met a lot of people. Lup also _hates_ a lot of people. We also know a bounty hunter, well, he is trying to hunt _us_ , but we suspect Taako has been texting him in secret so maybe he could ask him. And-”

“Carey,” Killian put a hand on her shoulder, “I appreciate it, really, but you don’t need to stress over this.”

Carey huffed. “Oh, I’m not stressing, this is kinda exciting!”

“Trust me, it won’t be fun when I finally find him.”

She might have said that a little too angry, because it made Carey put her phone back in her pocket.

She recovered quickly, shuffled the deck of cards, and offered them to Killian again. “You know what is fun, though? Cards and questions. Can we play another round over dinner?”

“Sure! But no more personal stuff.”

“Alright, but I’ll cheat this time. It’s only fair if you are going to be counting cards!”

***

####  `You have (1) new voice mail.`

_“Hey, Killian! It’s Brad. I was just calling to check in on you. It’s been a while, and we miss you. Lucretia told me you already reached the Gaia Belt, that’s so far from home! You’ve done an amazing job!_

_“I mean, I guess if you got so far and still haven’t reported anything back it means you aren’t doing so well…_ _But that’s okay! This is not your responsibility, and you are already doing so much for us!_

_“You can still come back if you want, okay? No hard feelings._

_“I mean, you already know that…_

_“…_

_“Please call me once you’ve got an stable signal again. Take care!”_

####  `To listen again, press one. To delete this message, press two.`


	6. The Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carey and Killian try (and fail) to have a peaceful night of sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not in a sexual way, sorry.
> 
> Also, sorry for the delay! I'll try to stay on schedule from now on.

####  `Ok two things **(!)**`

####  `1: Forget everything bad I said about Killian, she IS the chillest person I’ve ever met. **(!)**`

####  `2: Do any of you know a guy named Brian? **(!)**`

####  `Drow, has an accent, probably a jerk? **(!)**`

####  `Most definitely a jerk **(!)**`

####  `If you or any of the guys have seen someone like him around tell me ASAP! **(!)**`

***

“Hey, Brad. Everything is fine. Nothing new to report.”

Nope, too awkward.

####  ** `Message deleted.` **

“Hello, Brad! Thanks for checking in on me. How are you? I hope you are well after all that’s happened…”

_After all that’s happened? Way to go. Just answer the damn message._

####  ** `Message deleted.` **

“Hi, Brad. Everything is fine, thanks for calling. Sorry I haven’t said anything in awhile. Still no news about Brian, but I'm sure I'll…”

It wasn't working. There was nothing Killian could say that could make her situation sound less bad than it was. She deleted the recording, there wasn’t any signal to send it anyway.

Carey came back from the bathroom a couple minutes after. It was late now, just a while past midnight, and that was her third trip in the last hour.

"You okay?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah, I just had a lot of water,” she laughed, like it was no big deal.

“If you have trouble sleeping I have some pills that could help.”

Carey huffed. “Do you have pills for everything?”

“Only travel essentials. I know some people have trouble falling asleep while traveling.”

There was a shift in Carey’s stance that didn’t pass by Killian unnoticed. “Nah, I’m just used to staying up late.”

“You sure?”

“Yep,” she said, and took her phone out.

It occurred to Killian that Carey was still having trouble adjusting to the whole space trip deal, and she wished she could do something else to make it easier on her. “Hey, how about another game? Maybe we could-” that’s when a yawn took over her.

“You don’t have to stay up for me,” Carey laughed. “Really, I’m fine, and you’ve been driving all day.”

She did feel tired, and leaving the autopilot on when she was awake was an irresponsible thing to do. “Wake me up if you need anything.”

Sleeping was easy for her. Hopefully, it would be for Carey too, sooner or later.

***

####  `>Travel Log 8.27.2364-1: We are out of the hazard zone. Neverwinter is in sight.`

***

"Aaaaah! It's Neverwinter!"

Just like the day before, Carey woke up two hours after Killian. She offered Carey coffee and a cereal bar right away. "Enjoy the view?"

"I've never been so happy to see that filthy ice rock in my entire life," she swallowed the whole bar in one bite, too excited to even sit down next to Killian. "What time do we get there?"

"Around seven in the morning tomorrow. You sure you can wake up that early?"

Carey snorted at that. "I can be a competent adult when I want to, you know? And speaking of," she pulled out her phone, but there was still no signal, and therefore no answer from her competent adult friends.

***

####  `Yo yo yo yo Neverwinter! **(!)**`

####  `We are not there yet but it's not a little dot in the distance anymore **(!)**`

####  `I think we can even see some of the moons. **(!)**`

####  `Oh my god I can't wait till we get there it's been FOREVER **(!)**`

####  `I think I can even see one of the moons **(!)**`

####  `Hey! Let's get some moon tarts in the moon when you pick me up **(!)**`

***

"Can you _really_ do it?"

"You don't believe me?"

There was a lot of disbelief in the way Killian looked at her. Well, disbelief _and_ concern. “It’s not so much I don’t believe you that I think you will _die_ if you do it.”

“That’s just a myth! Look, I’ve done this a million times already.”

Killian sighed. “Alright, then, but I’m not carrying your corpse with me all the way to Neverwinter.”

“Fair enough.” Carey breathed in and out, gave Killian the signal to start the chronometer, and stuffed her mouth with five soda crackers.

"Come on! Don’t die!" Cheered Killian as Carey chewed, and chewed, and chewed.

Her mouth was getting dry, that was the hardest part, but Carey powered through it with the confidence of one who doesn’t fear death. Right under the mark of fifty five seconds, she swallowed, then opened her mouth to reveal it empty of any munched crackers. " _Goo gyeah!_ "

"Oh my god!" Killian said, equally amazed and grossed out. "You actually did it! You ate the five soda crackers!"

"I told you I could! Now please, for the love of god, pass me the water."

"I can't believe I didn't record this.” Killian handed her a bottle and watched as Carey downed the whole thing in one go.

"Oh, there's a lot of recordings on the web. I usually show people those when no one has crackers around, but they are under a very specific name so people can't google me when I bet money on this."

"How much have you made with that already?"

Carey shrugged. "Not as much as you’d think. I mean, there's a reason I still work as a mercenary. It’s just a neat party tr-" she was interrupted by a sudden shaking on the ship pushing her to the side. There was aloud _clank!,_ followed by her yelp of surprise. When she composed herself, Killian was already on her feet, running towards the control panel.

"What was that?!" Carey asked as she got up, running towards Killian’s side.

"An asteroid!"

"An asteroid?! Holy shit, are we gonna die?!"

"We are _not_ going to die! Shit, I thought we left the hazard zone behind in the morning," Killian was pressing buttons with such an urgency it almost made Carey worry, but she stopped at a panel, a radar by the looks of it, and sat back on the pilot's seat again, still tense.

Carey sat down too and looked at the control panel, but the information in it was foreign to her. "We good?"

"Yeah, it was just a rogue. Sometimes an idiot crashes against them on the belt and pushes it out of orbit. They are especially dangerous in this zone."

Carey whistled. "Damn, I thought the autopilot took care of those."

"It can detect and avoid collisions at slower speeds, like in the belt, but here in the open it gets trickier. That's why you should try to leave as fast as possible."

Killian's chest was still raising and falling at a fast pace, betraying how nervous she felt. Of course, Carey thought, this ship had been lent to Killian by a friend. It was probably the first time she had to deal with something like that.

"Hey, it's fine now,” Carey out a hand on Killian’s arm. “We are fine."

Killian managed to smile, even as she still tried to calm herself. "Weren't you scared of us dying like a minute ago?"

"Yeah, but we didn't, right?"

Despite herself, Killian laughed, and Carey felt incredibly proud for it. "Well, this ship has seen worse shit," she tapped a couple times on the control panel, as if giving the ship reassurance. "At least there's no internal damage, but I'll still have to spend some money on patching up whatever that asteroid did to the carcass."

"Uf, that's tough."

"Yep, but it's what I get for embarking on a space quest all by myself."

Carey wanted to say something about that, but she didn't know what. So instead, she went to pick up the food they had left behind and offered some to Killian. She took it with a thanks, and they both munched in silence for a little while.

***

####  `So **(!)**`

####  `Killian bet I couldn't eat ten soda crackers in under a minute **(!)**`

####  `Good news: I won **(!)**`

####  `Bad news: I uhhhh can't salivate anymore can you ask Merle if I'm going to be okay? **(!)**`

####  `Please, this is awful **(!)**`

***

Timezones got tricky in deep space. Long ago it had been decided on a standard universal time that affected any settlement without a proper solar cycle, on twenty-four hour days. Of course, planetary populations followed their own rules, and Killian herself had been going on a different timezone three weeks ago. When she bothered to do the math, she knew Neverwinter should have been around seven pm. But she didn’t have the time nor the patience to remember that little fact because she was too busy feeling angry at the call that woke her up, according to the interplanetary alliance, at two in the fucking morning. “I’m going to MURDER YOU.”

 _"Good night to you too, Killian,"_ came Madame Director's voice on the other end.

"Do you," Killian started, trying as much as she could not to yell at her, "have any idea how late it is?"

_"Not enough to let you sleep. I’m sorry, Killian, but this is a matter of the utmost urgency."_

"If your next words aren't that you know exactly where Brian is, I'm going to hang up."

_"I know exactly where Brian is."_

Killian sat up. "What?! You can't be serious!"

_"I am. I've been filling some gaps in his research for the past week, and while I had an idea of what he might have been doing before leaving, I couldn't be sure. That is, until I found some documents on his archive that confirmed my theory."_

"You hacked his account?"

_"Not his virtual archives. I'm in his office. Killian, there's some paper clippings in here, different editions, some printed from virtual news entries, and not all of them in Common, but all of them talk about Phandalin."_

"Phandalin? That's at the edge of the system, what is Brian doing over there?"

_"Have you ever heard of Phandelver?"_

She had, in fact, heard of it. Or rather, read about it. The lost moon of Phandalin, one of the oldest conspiracy theories in the system and probably the galaxy…

"No way," said Killian.

 _"I'm afraid, yes way,"_ said the Director.

"You can't be telling me Brian left home, stole a bunch of equipment and a ship from the Bureau, just to…"

_"Find the lost moon of Phandelver? Sounds to me like a very Brian thing to do."_

"That absolute BASTARD," and then Killian started yelling, at the phone, the ship, Brian, in no particular order and with no filter whatsoever.

The Director let her be for as long as she needed. When Killian was done, she asked, _"Feel better now?"_

Killian breathed in and out. "Yes."

_"Good. I'll send you the scans in a couple hours."_

"I can pick them up myself, I'm about to get to Neverwinter," she sighed, for a moment there Killian forgot she still had a mission to find Brian. This was good, she reminded herself, it was more than anything she had accomplished in her journey so far.

_”Very well. You can leave the ship here and take a direct line to Phandalin. I’ll arrange for Davenport to come pick it up this week.”_

“That would be good, yeah.” Gods knew how long it’d be before she could go back home anyway. "Oh, right. Have you told Brad yet?"

_"No, I called you first as soon as I was sure this was it. I'll call him now."_

"Let me tell him?" Killian said, fast, before she had the time to chicken out again.

_"Sure. Good night, Killian."_

"Good night, ma’am."

And she hung up.

Killian groaned. No, she shouldn't feel like that, she finally had something resembling a goal for the first time in weeks. So she breathed in, breathed out, and set to write down all the information and new course in the panel.

That's when she remembered she wasn't alone in the ship. Carey was looking at her from her seat, the only thing visible were her huge reptilean eyes, which reflected the light from the control panel. "Rough night, huh?"

Killian groaned again. "You have no idea."

"I mean, I did literally hear all of that conversation just now, so I think I have a pretty good idea."

"Sorry for waking you up."

"Huh? It's fine, I wasn't even planning on sleeping yet, it's just, what, two a.m.? I'm more worried about you right now."

"I'll be fine," Killian said, more as a way to convince herself than Carey.

"Alright," Carey didn't seem like she wanted to poke into that lie. There was an awkward silence between them until the meat, what Carey was really interested in knowing, came out. "So… Phandelver?"

Yep, there it was. "You see, it's this really old story about…"

"Oh, I know about it! I'm pretty sure everyone heard the story of how the Dwarves hid their own moon so the Orcs didn't steal it- shit, I forgot that’s a thing they actually did. So that is also real?"

"It's just a silly war myth."

"Yeah, of course. Just a myth." Carey nodded, but she still eyed Killian with interest. "So… why is your guy after it?"

"Because he is a FUCKING IDIOT-" she cut herself before going back into rage mode. "Sorry. What I meant is, it doesn't matter why he might be doing this. What matters is that I have to find him, no matter where he thinks he is going."

"Even if that's Phandelver."

Killian sighed, "Even if that's Phandelver. An imaginary place, imagined by angry Orcs who couldn't win a war. Have I mentioned how it isn't real? At all?"

"I got that, yeah."

"But of course he goes and picks the LESS PLAUSIBLE, MOST SHOWY conspiracy theory in the story of conspiracy theories to make this fucking quest."

"He seems like a total jerk."

"He's totally going to get lost in space trying to find that damn moon, and I'll get lost trying to find _him_."

"That sucks."

"No, alright, I have to approach this reasonably. Madame Director mentioned Phandalin, so he has to start over there. Maybe if I get there fast enough I might catch him before he goes and does anything stupid."

"I guess you could-"

"Yeah, that's just too good to be true. I don't know what made him think there's a moon out there waiting to be found, but I'll have to follow those same clues to find him. So, yes, I guess I _am_ on a quest to find the lost moon of Phandelver now!"

Carey looked at her with an amused expression before talking this time. “Are you done?”

“Yes.”

"You really did go through all five stages of grief in like a minute."

Despite herself, Killian laughed. "I also spent like five minutes screaming at my boss."

Carey shrugged. "You had a point, though."

They stared at each other for the longest ten seconds, and then both exploded in laughter. Killian didn't know what had finally taken over her, if the irony of the situation or just the exhaustion. But she laughed and laughed, and so did Carey, and after a pause for the both of them to regain their breath, they laughed some more, until Killian started wheezing.

And it felt as liberating at her outburst earlier.

God, what had she gotten into.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh shit it's that the plot?????


	7. Neverwinter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carey and Killian part ways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OR DO THEY?????

It was seven in the morning and Carey was wide awake, like a functional adult, and while some would argue functional adults didn’t stay up all night to achieve this, what mattered in the end was that she was ready.

Carey had spent most of the night looking between the closing planet and her phone. Just like she suspected, the call Killian got meant they had signal again, and sure enough her phone slowly got up to the full four bars. Carey looked at the backlog of messages accumulated in the past few days and cringed a bit. She hoped Magnus didn't scold her when the flood hit his inbox.

Well, he didn’t get angry. He also didn’t answer. In that time, the only message she got from him was:

 

####  `okay, but dont scare her too much`

####  `you dont want to be kicked off ship for poking your nose where it doesn't belong`

####  `we are on our way now, talk to you when we get our signal back!!`

 

And nothing else. Maybe it was late over there too, Magnus was sleeping. Carey should have, too, but it was hard when the anticipation of three days finally collapsed over her.

Killian, on her part, had gone to sleep an hour after her call, even after insisting she would stay up with Carey because the news was too much to take in. Unlike Carey, though, Killian was a respectable adult with a respectable sleep schedule, and soon fell back to sleep. Carey didn't blame her, of course, some people had different cycles. Truth to be told, she was happy Killian could get some rest now, because it seemed she wouldn't be getting any in the coming days.

 _Damn, Phandelver, huh._ Guess there was always someone having it worse than you.

At some point the ship had stopped, and that's when Carey woke Killian up. Turns out the autopilot of this ship wasn't programmed to land on its own, which Carey understood. She was a living person and still found it hard to land small vehicles without bumping on something.

"Where do you want me to drop you?," had asked Killian, cup of coffee still in one hand.

"Neverwinter City is fine!"

"Are you sure? Don't you prefer a less crowded place?"

"Nah, people like me stick out like a sore thumb out in the open. The city is full of weird people like me, and I know the place."

"Alright, then. I'll park at a service station, see if I can get the ship checked for our last collision."

"Cool, cool. I can't wait to get my feet back in the surface."

"You survived the trip," Killian laughed, "was it as terrible as you thought?"

"Not really. I mean, I’m don’t feel like going through all of that any time soon, but it all went by faster than I expected," she turned to Killian. “I even had fun sometimes!”

After the initial surprise it caused on her, Killian smiled. “I’m glad I could be of help.”

For all the nervousness she had during the trip, Carey was suddenly feeling weird about the trip ending. In a matter of hours she would be on the streets of Neverwinter, killing time before her friends got her, and Killian would be back in outer space to continue her mission. And the thought of that seemed wrong to Carey.

Wasn’t there anything she could say to make the parting less awkward? It wasn’t like they were besties now, but in the short period of time they shared together, Carey felt like she got to know Killian more than most people she spent months working with.

Before she could come up with anything, they landed.

"Alright, did you make sure you have everything with you?"

Carey didn't have to check twice, as her belonging were only her clothes and the shitty phone. She patted her pockets for show, though. "All good here. Thank you so much for the lift."

"It was nothing. I hope you are safe out there."

Killian extended a hand, but when Carey grabbed her, instead of a handshake, Killian pulled her in for a hug. Her hold was strong, and she was tall enough that Carey’s face ended up slotted against her chest. Carey’s first thought was how soft it felt. Her second thought was that wasn't the only one feeling bad about their parting, and that, surprisingly, comforted her even more.

"Hey," she pulled apart just enough to look at Killian in the eye before talking, "you be careful out there too, okay? Space is too big for only one person, even if she's a strong, punchable looking Orc."

Killian raised an eyebrow. "Is that supposed to be a show of concern?"

Carey shrugged. "I mean, you know, people like us gotta look out for each other."

She gave Carey’s shoulders a final squeeze before completely letting go. "Thank you. I hope we meet again."

Meeting again, yes, that sounded good. Carey couldn't help the smile that creeped into her face. "Tell you what," she quickly scrambled through the ship until she found a piece of paper and pen, where she scribbled a long string of numbers and offered it to Killian. "How about you call me next time you are free? We could hang around Neverwinter," then she coughed, "I mean, you know, with me and my friends. Or if your guys needs an extra ass kicking we could get the job done for a modest price."

Killian took the paper in one hand and smiled back at her. "I'll keep in touch."

The doors to the ship finally opened, and Carey was taken in by the air in her face. It had been months since the last time she breathed a proper atmosphere. She walked out…

"… Oh shit, I almost forgot!" Carey frantically searched around her pockets. "You'll need this more than me," and she threw something at Killian.

Killian grabbed it easily. "Thank you, I'll- Wait a minute, is this my wallet?!"

But Carey was already gone.

***

####  `>Travel Log 8.28.2364-1: Arrived at Neverwinter City. Passenger left on a service station. Note to self: Put a chain on my wallet.`

***

Neverwinter was on the farther end of the solar system. Because of this, and despite being the biggest planet, it was scarcely populated outside of its major cities, which were under constant ice storms. Neverwinter City, however, was built around one of the few active volcanoes, which regulated the place's cold temperature into a nice middle, making it one of the most populated cities in the galaxy and earning it its name.

Carey loved the city, the noise, the people, the feeling of anonymity. It was one of the preferred places for mercenaries and clients to rendezvous, but most important, it’s where Carey had met her friends. It wasn’t the sort of place Carey would pick as a home, but she enjoyed coming back from time to time to have a drink with the guys and taking a rest between jobs. Thinking about it now, it only made sense for her to meet Magnus, Merle and Taako there.

Once she was a safe distance from Killian's ship —who would eventually forgive her for the whole wallet situation—, she took her phone out, full of signal, and checked her inbox, but there wasn’t a single new message.

She tried calling Magnus' number, but the voice on the other end said he was out of range. The irony of the whole situation was ridiculous.

Well, nothing else for her to do. She sent a message informing him she was already on Neverwinter, stole some cash from a poor tourist, and looked for somewhere to get breakfast.

***

The ship wasn't as damaged as Killian had feared, but it still took a nasty dent at the side. As if she needed more things to worry about now.

Speaking of worries, there was still something Killian owed, and unfortunately, she had more than enough time to get to it.

She called Brad.

The line rang for a whole minute. Killian hoped it would never go answered, but Brad did pick up en the end. "Hello? Killian?" His voice was a little rough and his words groggy, like he had just been sleeping. Oh, fuck, what time was it back home? She felt a pang of guilt, but on top of everything she had going it didn't do much of a difference.

"Brad, good evening. Sorry to wake you up."

"'S fine, I'm happy to hear from you," and he did sound happy, because that was the kind of person Brad Bradson was. "How’ve you been? Did you get my message?"

"Yes. I'm sorry I couldn't answer before, I've just finished a trip so I didn't have much signal these past few days."

"No, don't apologize, all that matters is that you are safe and sound. Where are you now?"

"Neverwinter City. I’m checking the ship for repairs."

"Oh, dear, is everything okay?"

"It’s just a couple dents.” She breathed in, then out. _Come on, Killian, just get over with._ “I… wanted to talk to you about something."

"What is it?" asked Brad, and his tone was more lucid now, like the anticipation finished waking him up.

"The Director called me last night. She thinks we finally have a solid clue of his location,”

but before Brad had a chance to get his hopes up, Killian added: "He's looking for Phandelver."

“Phandelver? Is that in Phandal-?” And then, it hit him. “Wait, like the lost moon?”

“Yes, _that_ Phandelver,” she sighed, trying her hardest to ignore the need to yell profanities again. Right now her priority was Brad. “Listen, I know this is hard to hear, but the Director says she has suspected it might be the case for a while. Do you remember him saying anything about this before the…”

There was a faint sound at the other end of the line that Killian couldn’t identify. No, actually, she knew what it was, but it didn’t make any sense. Brad, on the complete opposite spectrum of Killian's reaction, was _laughing_. “That’s amazing!”

Killian crutched her phone harder. "You are taking this way better than I thought."

"Am I? It’s just- wow, when he goes, he goes big. Honestly, this is a relief. I’ve been worried sick these past weeks, thinking something might’ve happened to him, when he was just-"

“An asshole?”

"Oh, Killian, don't say that."

"Why? He ran away, Brad. _For a myth_. Why aren't you angry?"

"I mean, if this is so important to him, who am I to judge? I'm just happy he found his calling in life."

That was when Killian had to take the phone away from herself, because all her self control was leaving her and she only wanted to yell again. She counted to ten, still angry, then twenty, a little less angry, and she figured that was how far she would get for now. "Brad, listen, I know you are incapable of seeing the bad things around you, because that's the kind of lovable fool you are."

"Thank you!"

"But you need to look at things seriously for once in your life. This is not the time to be an optimist."

"I'm just trying to understand him, isn't that what we should do to find someone?"

"Do you want me to find him?"

"Of course I do!"

"And you want him back."

"Yes!"

"You were sad when he left."

"I'm-" he paused, and for a moment there Killian swore she could hear a shift in his breathing. Brad mumbled a couple things, the beginning of something that hinted at his true feelings.

In the end, though, he kept up his optimistic persona. "Does it matter now? Once you find him, we can all go back to how things were before. And maybe he'll have a whole new discovery under his name."

Killian decided to give up on that conversation.

"I have to hang up now, though. It's really late, and I'm afraid I might upset father with my talking. "

"Yeah, sorry again for not checking the time before calling."

"And again, it's completely fine. I'm glad you called."

He was the one to hang up. Killian stared at the screen of her phone for a moment after that, wondering if Brad would even be able to sleep that night.

***

####  `[selfie of me with a mug of coffee in one hand and a big quesadilla on the other]`

####  `Yeah okay this phone doesn't have a camera, but you get the idea.`

####  `See what you’re missing.`

***

Carey spent the next couple hours eating. She ate a lot. Not to be ungrateful for the food provided by Killian but there was so much flavorless snack bars one Dragonborn could take before feeling like her tongue dulled. It was only healthy of her to eat as many different flavours she could find, least she would lose all sense of smell or taste.

And she was bored, too.

Now that her stomach was full and her heart content, the night of wakefulness was finally getting her. She could go for a nap right now, but there weren't many places inside the city for her to lie peacefully without the noise bothering her. While she considered good buildings around to climb and rest on their ceilings, her phone started to buzz.

Now, one buzz was good. One buzz was great. It meant Magnus had finally received her messages and was finally texting her back. And then, a second buzz, which meant Magnus sent a second text. Carey was already reaching for her phone, but then a third buzz came, and a fourth, and a fifth, all of them after a perfect interval of two seconds, and Carey realized it wasn't a string of texts but a call.

Calls were different.

She finally got her phone out by the sixth buzz, and when she answered the call, there was nothing but static at the other end.

"Magnus?" Carey checked again the caller ID. It was Magnus' number alright, but there was nothing on the other end. She pressed the speaker button to hear better in the crowded street, and only after planting her ear to the phone at max volume she could finally distinguish words… or, well, sounds.

_"… rey… eer me… t's Mag…"_

"I can't hear you, can you speak up?"

_"s me, Magnus-!"_

"That's better! Hey, I don’t know if you read my message, but I’m on Neverwinter now."

_"…he…"_

"Heh? What's so funny?"

_"No… lp…"_

"Magnus, I think I'm losing you, can you call from a better-"

_"Help! We need-!"_

And then the call ended.

"No! Wait! Magnus?!" Carey’s phone showed only a black screen, and when she tried pressing the on button, a pixel drawing of an empty battery was all she got. " _Now?!_ "

Carey checked her pockets for the charger, but she didn't have it with her. Of all the things that she could have forgotten! Part of her was amazed the battery had lasted the entirety of the trip.

With no time to spare, Carey ran through the city, looking for someone, anyone who could help her. "Excuse me! Do you have a phone charger? No, an older one, like for this model? Anyone? Come on!"

She finally gave up and decided to ask for a tech store. The closest one was ten minutes by walk; Carey made it in two. "I need a phone charger for this!"

The man at the store, an old gnome, looked at the phone in her hands with interest. "That's a model I haven't seen in a while."

"Do you have it or not?!"

"Sure, sure, let me get a closer look," the old man whistled. "Are you sure you don't want something better? I have an affordable smartphone model you might like-"

"JUST GIVE ME THE DAMN CHARGER."

It took longer for the man to find it than for Carey to get to the store. He looked at the front, under the counter and on the shelves, until he recalled he might’ve had a spare model at the back. Carey was ready to run to another store when the man emerged from the back with a thick, curly cable, a monster of ancient technology, just like Carey’s phone. "See if this one does it."

The cable fit perfectly. "Yes! How much? Can you plug me in here?"

"Oh, not so fast. That plug is too old, it needs an adapter-"

"THEN GET ME THE ADAPTER, FOR FUCK’S SAKE, MAN, THIS IS A LIFE OR DEATH SITUATION."

It felt like an eternity before Carey was completely plugged and another one for the phone to get enough battery to turn on and make a call. Carey dialed Magnus' number and hoped it wasn't too late.

When he picked up, she felt all the weight on her shoulders drop. "Magnus, dear god, Are you guys okay?!"

_"Carey! I thought we lost you!"_

"I thought I lost _you!_ What happened? I could barely hear you back then!"

_"We had to climb for better signal, this place is a mess!"_

"Where are you? You said you needed help!"

_"I mean, we are not dying or anything-"_

"OH, COOL BEANS, YOU COULD'VE SAID THAT BEFORE I WORRIED MYSELF SICK."

_(“He’s so dramatic.”)_

_("Way to worry her for nothing, buddy.")_

_"You shut up!”_ Said Magnus. _“You both haven’t done anything but complain all day!"_

"Guys!" said Carey, who really didn't have the patience for their lovable doofuses act right then. Her heart had stopped a million times in the past hour only. "Tell me what's going on already!"

_"We crashed our ship."_

“What?!” Carey clutched the phone and spoke to it like it was Magnus himself. “Oh my god, are you guys okay?!”

_“Yeah! We are fine, all of us. Taako’s been complaining but you know how he is, and Merle and his cousins keep babbling about… Look, I don’t know where we are, but ever since we crashed weird shit has been happening around us. For starters, I have signal here, but there’s nothing- and I mean, not a thing around! And on top of that, it just happened so suddenly.”_

“What are you talking about?”

_“One second we were in open space and the next we are being pulled by something- I don’t know what it was! Then we crashed here. I swear I’ve never seen a place like this, the sky is yellow, and everything looks like it’s made of gold. The Dwarves keep talking about this- this lost moon, that we somehow found it!”_

Carey almost let go of the phone on her hand. “Phandelver.”

_“Yeah! That’s the name! How did you-?”_

Carey unplugged the phone from the old charger, “I gotta go! Call you later!”

The owner looked at her dumbfounded, but by the time he managed to yell, “Wait! Aren’t you going to buy that?!” She was already gone.

***

Killian was sitting behind the control panel, head in her hands, thinking.

This was the part where she made a list of the things she knew and set course ahead for her next destination. Phandelver, but before that, Phandalin, and before that, the Bureau of Balance. This also seemed like a very good moment to give up and turn around.

She revved up the engine and opened her log. “New entry. Leaving Neverwinter, stop. Set destination to the Bureau of B-“

Suddenly, Carey’s face was on the windshield. Killian screamed.

“What the-?!”

Carey gestured towards the inside of the ship. Killian didn’t have experience reading lips on Dragonborn, but she figured out it was something along the lines of, “Let me in”.

She watched as Carey leaped from the roof of her ship to the entrance with a grace she hadn’t seen before, but even so, she looked worse than the last Killian had seen her. Panting, dirty all over. But when Carey talked, she was smiling, “Can I get a ride to Phandelver?”


	8. The Artificial Moon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where do you start your quest for a moon? On a moon, obviously.
> 
> Carey and Killian visit the Bureau of Balance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You may notice some small plot inconsistencies in this chapter, but if you go back you'll see it actually makes sense and I didn't forget my own plot nope.  
> okay yeah i went back and fixed a couple things, but its all peachy now.

Among the many satellites orbiting Neverwinter was the Bureau of Balance, a small artificial moon, host to the facilities of a beneficial organization. Carey had only seen it from the planet’s surface, where it was indistinguishable from any other moon around, but the moment she walked on it for the first time, breathed in its clean air and moved through its comfortably standard gravity, she could feel the place was man made. Everything was too perfect. A small part of her mind immediately felt on edge, like someone might pinpoint her as an outsider and kick her out before she broke (or stole) anything.

That never happened though. They were now at the office of Killian’s boss, a woman about Magnus’ age, though she seemed way more mature than Carey’s best friend.

“This is all the information I’ve been able to recover from Brian’s office,” the woman, Madame Director as Killian called her, was showing them crumpled scraps of paper clippings, printed news and blog entries.

Killian frowned as she read through them. “This is… Dwarvish?”

“Not all of them, but yes. Space accidents, missing ships, even small weather reports…”

“He really thinks this might be it,” she stopped her sight at one specific page, one of the few that were written in Common. Well, it read like Common, but the grammar was off every few sentences, kind of like the broken language you’d expect from an online translator.

“Not only that,” the Director said. “As I told you last night, I’ve suspected this might be the true nature of his escape since some time ago. I’ve also checked Brian’s library card history, and there’s records of him taking books on astrophysics in the weeks before he left. The ship he took with him is one of the sturdiest models we own, and I believe this choice might have something to do with those incidents in mind.” She turned to Carey, who was still having a hard time not feeling out of place. That severe gaze really wasn’t helping. “Your friends mentioned something about this, right?”

“Uh, yeah. One minute they were good and suddenly the ship stopped responding. Next thing they know is they crashed on Phandelver.”

“They _think_ it was Phandelver,” said Killian. She was still clutching one of the paper clippings between her hand.

“And so does Brian,” said the Director in a much more calm manner. “Carey, you must keep in touch with your friends, get as many information about the place they crashed into. Regardless of what Brian might do, this is still an unknown environment.”

“I’ll do what I can, buuuuuut…” Carey took her pitiful phone out of her pockets, “I ran out of battery a couple hours ago, and I might’ve lost the charger since I couldn’t find it inside Killian’s ship. Wouldn’t you happen to have an extra phone I could borrow?”

Killian raised an eyebrow at the last part. Carey noticed, not that she was intentionally looking for it, that her wallet was now chained to her pants. Talk about distrust, that had only been once!

“I’m afraid I don’t,” said Lucretia, “but I could look for a charger around here if that’d be of help.”

“Why don’t you just charge it yourself? Aren’t blue Dragonborns electric?”

Carey sighed. _Really_ sighed. “Phones require a surge of current at a very specific ratio we Dragonborns _can’t_ provide because doing so requires a total control of the rate at which we power it, which by natural means is impossible.”

The other two stared at her in silence for a short moment.

Killian snickered. “You’ve had to answer this question a lot, I assume.”

“If I had a dollar every time someone asked.”

The Director cleared her throat. “I’ll see what I can do. I can also provide you with pressurized suits so you can explore this “moon” without fear of atmospheric conditions.”

Carey gasped. “We get space suits? Awesome!”

“That’s one way of putting it,” the Director said.

It wasn’t obvious, but, by the sudden change in her stance, it looked like Killian was excited about that part too.

***

Half an hour later, they were trying on whatever suits were available at the Bureau. After stuffing Carey inside an oversized Dragonborn suit, sticking bobby pins all over until they ran out, the man working the suits sighed in exasperation and finally decided stitching a tail on a suit her size. Carey was _not_ happy about the look the man gave her, nor the way the Director glanced away, hiding a smile. Killian saved her own laugh for later, mostly because getting on Carey’s bad side this early in the mission would be very inconvenient.

Since Killian’s own suit had been taken care of, she awaited on a corner of the room for Carey, rereading the new information and adding it to her own notes for the mission.

“I’m glad you found someone to go with you,” said Madame Director next to her.

Killian looked at her briefly before returning to her notes. “Me too. Lucky for us her friends crashed into our objective, as tragic as it sounds.”

The Director sighed, “That’s not what I meant, Killian. You’ve already been on this journey four weeks alone, I’m amazed you haven’t given up yet.”

“Well, I’m not going to give up _now_ ,” she said, hoping the Director would give up on the subject of her sanity. Another glance at her worried face told Killian otherwise. “I’m fine, seriously. I’ve been reading a lot, even started a travel log like you suggested.”

“I suggested a _journal_ , Killian, something personal. You are treating this like a mission.”

“It _is_ a mission, Madame. My job is to find Brian.”

The Director’s expression softened for a moment, but then it was back to her usual stern self. “Very well. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll go take care of your ship,” she said, and then left the room to the three of them.

Killian was left alone with her thoughts, from the information on the incidents to Brian’s plan, and from Brian’s plan to Brian. They were in one of the very rooms he used to frequent, trying on suits and joke about going on missions himself. Back in the day nobody seemed to think of it as something strange. Outside of those situations Brian had never expressed an interest in field work. He seemed pretty content at his desk job with everyone else. It was a joke, most people did those.

But there was an empty space in the closet, it wasn’t just a joke, and Killian felt stupid for not seeing it coming. No one did. Even the whole conspiracy theories deal had never been a joke to him.

She must have been making a face or something, because Carey, who was out of the suit again, asked, “Hey, Killian, you alright?”

“Yeah, sorry, I zoned out a little bit there,” she said in her best reassuring tone. It wasn’t very convincing, but Carey didn’t get a chance to ask further as right then the Director came back.

“I’ve arranged for your departure. Once you are done here, a shuttle will take you to the Kalliope Spaceport and you can secure a two-weeks trip to Phandalin.”

Carey winced visibly at that. Their ast trip had been long enough to drive her insane; this was going to be difficult. “Is there any chance we can take an express trip?”

“I’m sorry, Killian, but right now the Bureau doesn’t have the resources for a quantum ticket, let alone two.”

“Uh, guys…,” Carey said, but she was ignored.

“Brian might already be there,” Killian argued, “we already wasted a month looking.”

“Can I say something real quick?,” Carey said, still ignored.

“He already cost us _valuable resources_ ,” the Director replied in the same tone, “and that’s not accounting for the research he erased from his own database.”

“Wow, this conversation is getting tense.”

“You’d be paying for getting it all back!” Killian was having a hard time keeping herself from yelling at her own boss _again_.

“Listen to me for two seconds and you can go back to arguing in peace.”

“In that case, we should ask Brad too. He is as interested in getting Brian back.”

“Like, seriously, hey, this is _important_.”

Killian raised her arms in exasperation. “Okay, one, if you are talking about our Brad, _he_ doesn’t have money. And before you ask, no, there’s not a chance in hell his old man will want to help us. He hates Brian more than all of us combined. Two, Brian has already taken enough from Brad for me to ask-”

“GUYS!,” Carey screamed, holy shit, did she have a voice when she put her mind into it. Killian and the Director stared at her dumbfounded. “I can’t go to the Kalliope Spaceport. Like, ever.”

“What? Why not?” Asked Killian, but by now she knew enough about Carey to answer that question herself. “What did you do?”

The Director stared at Killian like she wanted to ask _her_ what Carey did, like it was _her_ fault.

“It’s nothing _serious_ , I just, you know, tried to pocket something here or there, the guard caught me, I broke free, and they got mad I got free and, really, they are just petty I’m better than their entire security system.”

“You did _what_?!” exclaimed Killian and madame Director at the same time.

That was it, Killian was already feeling white hairs growing on her scalp. “Kalliope is the biggest, most important spaceport _in the whole galaxy_ , how can you be so reckless to get banned from it?!”

“The security levels in there must be of the highest standards,” said the Director. “To think you could free yourself so easily, it’s amazing.”

Killian looked back at her, incredulous. “Don’t enable her!”

“And it wasn’t _that_ easy,” said Carey, sparkling from her broken horn.

So, what now? Killian considered the best course of action but the two most efficient options of transportation had been discarded, and what did that leave?

She could go without Carey, ask for all the information her friends could get and figure out the rest on her own. It would be easier and cheaper, maybe Lucretia would reconsider a quantum ticket if they halved the cost.

That’s when the tailor came back with Carey’s suit, and her face lit up. She tried it on with ease and it fit perfectly. “Oh, hell yes!”

Killian thought about the past month, how stressful the whole thing had been to the point it amazed her now that she hadn’t quit yet. Reaching the Gaia Belt had been a true feat.

And then, before she had noticed, they got to Neverwinter.

“We’ll take Davenport’s ship,” Killian finally said. When the Director raised an eyebrow at her, she added, “It’ll take as long as a regular airline anyways.”

The Director nodded, seemingly happier than Killian would have expected after all that mess. “I’ll tell Davenport he doesn’t need to come get his ship anymore.”

“Thank you. Let me talk to him when you do so I can thank him properly. Carey, is that alright by you or…?” she turned to face the Dragonborn as she said this and again found her question answered itself when she saw Carey’s face.

“You’d do this for me?,” she said on the verge of tears.

Killian chuckled. “Well, your friends are waiting for you too.”

That immediately sobered Carey up. “You're right!” She leapt on top of a desk, an amazing task considering how bulky and heavy those suits were, and she struck a pose. “We have a moon to find, asses to save, and faces to punch!”

“You know what? I love the sound of that,” Killian extended a hand to help Carey get down. “Let’s do this.”

And maybe Carey didn’t really need it, she was pretty good at this climbing up and down of stuff on her own, but she still took her hand. “Hell yeah!”

***

####  `>Travel Log 8.28.2364-3: Leaving the Bureau of Balance. Set course to Phandalin.`

***

####  `I’m back! What did I miss!`

####  `magnus is dead Taako controls this phone now`

####  `Okay! tell him we are on our way to Phandalin when he comes back`

####  `natch`

####  `bring water with you we are running low on it`

####  `Noted, see you in two weeks!`

####  `two weeks???`

####  `carey did you say two WEEKS?????`

***

The moment Killian sat behind the wheel, her body started working on its own. This was her routine: checking the status of the ship, setting up course, and launching into space.

The only difference was that this time, she had a clear goal. And company.

Carey spent the first couple hours of travel talking to her friends over the phone, making the most of the augmented signal of Neverwinter’s orbit before she had to go back to texting. With one hand, she held the phone, while the other took notes. Well, _some_ of them were notes. The rest was filled to every corner with doodles; abstract shapes, things they had mentioned in their conversation, or people, Carey’s friends, Killian assumed.

Killian ended up eavesdropping on the conversation, which couldn’t be helped when the person calling was right next to you. It was endearing, but part of her felt a little envious, too. Hours-long phone calls with friends were a thing of the past for Killian. When was the last time she’d had one?

Oh, right, when her best friend got engaged. They had spent hours on the phone talking about wedding plans. That had been less than ten months ago, but it felt like years to Killian.

And speaking of time, back in the present Carey was suffering.

“So… two weeks.”

Poor Carey, if she had barely survived the three day trip from the Belt to Neverwinter, Killian couldn’t imagine now. “I’m sorry we can’t go faster on this.”

“Oh, no, I mean,” Carey stammered. “I appreciate this. Driving for two weeks must be tiring for you too.”

Killian shrugged. “I’ve been doing this for a month already.”

“But _still_!” Carey grunted. She turned her seat around and slid into the floor like she was melting. Lying on her back with her limbs outstretched, she sighed. “I need to prepare myself mentally for the trip, if you don’t mind.”

“Go ahead.”

“ _Ooooohm_ ,” she humbled like a mantra while small sparks bursted from her broken horn… wait a minute.

“Is that a fucking pun?”

“ _Ooooohm_ , I don’t know _watt_ you are talking about, _ooooooooooooohm_.”

“Ugh, are the electricity puns a Dragonborn thing? Do I have to deal with this for two weeks?”

“Yep!” Carey sat up and flashed a sharp smile at Killian. “Wanna join me in the pit of doomed fate?”

Killian looked at the floor, cold, hard, and probably stacked with static electricity. Actually, wasn’t it dangerous for the ship having a blue Dragonborn aboard? Well, it was too late to think about that now, wasn’t it?

“Sure, what the hell.” Killian activated the autopilot and laid on the floor next to Carey, and they hummed ominously-

“ _Ohm_ inously,” whispered Killian.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

-for the next hour.

An hour was a lot of time to think, especially if you had things you didn’t want to think about. But Killian had thought about Brian and Phandalin and Phandelver so much already. This was supposed to be a moment of reflexion, not stress.

She banned the thought of her mind, at least for the rest of the day. Right now, the focus was on on the close future. It would be a rough couple of weeks for Carey.

Or it could, if Killian let it happen. But she didn’t have to.

Besides, she decided, what was a couple days more?

***

Spending a month in prison put things into perspective, and perspective is what you needed when you found yourself in a bad situation. Carey set her mind to find every single pro of the trip in comparison to what she had to deal with in prison. Pro number one, and the most obvious, Carey wasn’t literally being held captive. This was a choice she made consciously for the sake of her friends.

Carey breathed in, and then out.

Now she was repeating that to herself as she meditated. Carey had never been much of a spiritual person, but being tired, and boy was she exhausted, made these kind of things easier.

Carey concentrated. In between hums, she could still hear the sound of air coming in and out of Killian’s nose next to her. Pro number two was the company, because as much as she hated this, at least she had Killian with her to share the suffering. Just kidding, she liked Killian. She wasn’t like most of her friends, Carey doubted she had ever broken the law even by accident, but Killian was chill, as in cool person to be around, and also, like, _actual_ chill, which was something Carey wouldn’t have said about most of the people she knew. She made Carey feel… comfortable? Yeah, something like that.

They stayed like that for an hour in which no one said anything, but not in an awkward way. When Killian got up, she did so making as little noise as she could.

“How about dinner?”

Carey breathed in, “Heck yeah,” then out. Pro number three, no food was worse than prison food.

They talked a bit more about what the guys had told Carey, but it wasn’t a very heated up conversation. The weight of the past twenty-four hours, from the moment Phandelver was mentioned for the first time, finally crashed over Killian. She looked even more tired than Carey felt. Out of the two of them, Killian had been the one to experience the most intense emotions that day. At least Carey was certain the route they were taking would lead her to her friends, but there was no assurance for Killian’s dude.

By the time they were done eating, Killian couldn’t stop yawning from time to time. “Well, that’s been it for me.”

“Go to sleep, big girl, you’ve had a long day.”

Killian looked at her, “What about you? Are you gonna stay up again?”

“It’s still a bit early for me.”

“You didn’t sleep much last night either.”

Carey shrugged. “I mean, I’m not going to run a marathon like this, that’s for sure, but I can’t put my brain to sleep at a time when he’s used to stay on.”

Killian sighed. “Alright then,” she turned the lights off. “Good night, Carey. Wake me up if you need anything.”

“Good night, Killian.”

It was true she didn’t have much energy, but she still stayed up until well into the night, alternating between writing on her phone, meditating, and looking through the windows.

Pro number four, waking hours in the ship were way less strict than in jail, where inmates were taken out of their beds as early as seven in the morning. But in the ship, she could oversleep as much as she wanted.

Or so she thought. Next morning, Killian turned every single light in the ship and tore Carey from the sweet embrace of her blanket.

“Rise and shine!”

“Ugh, five minutes more,” Carey wrapped her head under the pillow, but Killian also took it from her. “Noooooo, argh! It’s too early for this! What time is it?”

“Ten a.m.”

“ _Ten?!_ What’s wrong with you!”

“I’m sorry, Carey, but if we are going to share a room for two weeks, we’ll need to reach a compromise with our sleep schedules.”

“Then why can’t _you_ sleep more?” Carey whined, and she would pout if her anatomy allowed it, “This is no time to be awake.”

But Killian didn’t pay attention to her complaints. She just went about her day, made coffee for the two of them (Carey accepted hers reluctantly) and did her usual stuff in front of the panel. All of this while making sure Carey didn’t fall back to sleep by delicately slapping her face when she dozed off.

“You are the worst space roommate.”

Killian smiled at her. “Oh, I’m sorry, if you really don’t want to go out for lunch today you can go back to sleep.”

She was still so groggy it took Carey a moment to process what Killian was saying. “Out? Out where? In space?”

Without a word, Killian just pointed outside the window right in front of them, which Carey somehow had ignored throughout the entirety of their morning so far, but when she saw what Killian meant her brain revved up to full capacity.

There was a moderately sized satellite cluster in front them, nothing too fancy or interesting besides a gas station, some stores, and an _I Hate Mondays’_ sign lit up in the far corner.

Perspective, Carey thought, was a magic thing, because everything about that place screamed shitty, but in that moment Carey thought this was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

“Oh, Killian, you shouldn’t have!” Carey turned to her. “You really shouldn’t, was this place en route to Phandalin?”

Killian shrugged. “I had to take a small detour, but it won't cost us more than an extra hour on the trail. But we can’t stay more than three hours in here, you hear me? I’d rather we have a cleaner exit than the last time.”

Carey raised a hand to her temple and sat up straight. “Yes, ma’am! I, Cadet Fangbattle, swear to stay on my best behavior today,” then she lowered her arm and spoke in a lower voice, more relaxed. “I’m assuming this is a special case, right?”

“Well, it won’t be a _daily_ thing, but I don’t see why we can’t stop every three days or so to pick up some rations and stretch our legs. You know, to make the trip more bearable.”

Carey thought, briefly, that she could kiss Killian right then and there.

“Besides, you’ve been wearing those clothes for four days and it’s starting to smell. We need to get you new ones.”

Carey looked down to her clothes. The shirt she bought at the service station, _I went to the Gaia Belt and the only thing I got was this lousy shirt_ , already sported a number of unidentifiable stains. “Yeah, fair.”

An hour later, they walked out of the cluster’s parking lot. It wasn’t as crowded as Neverwinter, but there were more people around than the Belt. Some of them were tourists on their way to actual touristic attractions; the rest, Carey’s people. When she crossed eyes with one of them, they would nod in acknowledgment.

“Friend of yours?” Asked Killian.

“Nah,” Carey said, “just common courtesy.”

Some people stared at Killian, but she ignored them, so Carey did too.

First order was getting Carey some clothes, which Killian got under the promise of Carey paying back, plus other basic supplies for the trip. After they were done with that, they walked around, looking at anything of interest.

“How about something to read?”

“What’s wrong with my magazines?” Killian joked.

“Look, there’s so much bullshit my brain can take before it melts for real. I just want something substantial! Oh, gossip!”

Killian grunted. “That’s substantial?”

Carey took a hand to her chest in fake offense. “I just want to catch up with my month in prison! Did you know the royal wedding was canceled? I didn’t even know there was going to be one!”

Killian slapped the magazine of her hands. “I’ll get you a book.”

“Thank you.”

The place was small enough you could get a look at everything in less than an hour, so by twelve they were pretty much done. At the end of the road was the diner, a building that looked just like every other _I Hate Monday’s_ in the galaxy. Not that Carey had been on every one of them.

“Isn’t it too early to get lunch?” Killian examined the place with a weary eye, probably still tasting the salt from her last meal at the Belt.

“Never too early for chips. Come on!”

The inside was more crowded than Carey had expected for the hour, but then again, nobody cared about timezones in space. The manager’s annoying voice hit them almost the moment they crossed the threshold. “HELLO THERE, I SEE YOU’VE ESCAPED THE HAND OF THE LAW ONE MORE TIME.”

“Wow, thanks. Can you say it a little louder for the people at the sun-”

“What the _fuck_?!” Killian screamed as she pointed at the man behind the counter. “You were at the belt!”

“YES. YOU WERE ALSO AT THE BELT.”

Killian looked at Carey, “But,” then at him. “You,” then back at Carey again. “Him. _How?!_ ”

“I told you, this is a chain. Same food, same chairs, same-”

“Same _people_?!”

“Are you sure you know how chains work?” Carey asked, amused.

Killian thought, _really_ thought about it before answering. “I’m not sure anymore.”

Carey grabbed Killian’s hand and walked her to the closest table available.

A Halfling young man approached them. His name tag read _Robbie_ and his eyes read _high as a kite_. “What can I get you?”

“Two servings of chips, a Coke, and…”

“A Sprite, please,” said Killian.

“Is Pepsi okay?”

“Sure,” said Carey, and waved the little guy goodbye as he went to fetch their order. “You okay, Killian?”

Killian sighed, “Yeah, I guess. I mean, I’m on the way to Phandalin to find a lost moon. Seeing the same guy twice in two different places isn’t that weird compared to that.”

“You are lucky it’s only been twice. He already knows too much about me.”

“I just wonder how I never knew about this place,” she gestured at everything around them. “This is the exact type of conspiracy theory I would’ve eaten up when I was younger.”

“But this is not a conspiracy theory, you know. It’s real.”

The smell of chips filled the air, and Carey turned around just in time to see their order being delivered by Robbie. “Here you go, two servings of chips, a Coke, and a Pepsi,” and he left.

Killian stared at the can of Pepsi in front of her with resignation, “You know what? Yeah. Whatever.”

Carey laughed loudly, which in turn made Killian laugh too.

“Hey, Killian,” Carey managed in between chuckles, “do you have your phone with you?”

“Yeah.”

“Can I have it for a sec?”

Killian’s laughing stopped. “What are you planning, Fangbattle?”

“Nothing bad! I won’t steal anything this time, promise.”

Killian handed her the phone reluctantly. It felt weird in Carey’s hand after carrying her brick for a while. The screen was locked, but what she wanted was right there.

Carey pressed her face to Killian’s and smiled. “Say “I Hate Mondays”!”

“I Hate Mondays…?”

 _Click_ , they now had a selfie at the _IHM_.

“I don’t know what I expected,” said Killian as she looked at the photo on the screen.

“We are on a trip, selfies are mandatory! Don’t forget to tag me.”

“Do you want me to tag the Belt’s Guard too?”

“Ha, ha, very funny!”

***

####  `Back in track!`

####  `nice!!!`

####  `wait when did you leave track? everything ok???`

####  `Yes! We stopped in the way to get some fried mysteries`

####  `gross! Thats someones blood!!`

####  `That’s a myth, you know nobody’s been able to get a reading of whatever they put in there`

####  `and what do you think they do with all that blood huh???`

####  `Honestly??? I don’t wanna know. Ever`

####  `… same`


	9. Lucky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Killian and Carey go for a walk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ara named most of the places in this fic so if you see something that looks like a Star Trek reference it was probably them.

####  `speaking of food, dont listen to taako, we are fine for a little longer here`

####  `but since you are on the way bring something please`

####  `all weve got is travel food and let me tell you`

####  `ITS BORING`

####  `IM GETTING BORED OF FOOD`

####  `i miss real food with my wife`

####  `god i miss julia`

####  `im gonna call her again`

####  `hey you ok? you havent answered in hours`

####  `OH right right no signal in space`

####  `its okay you just answer when you get your signal back`

####  `i wont spam you anymore`

####  `--- 8.30.2364 ---`

####  `GOOD MORNING CAREY!!!!`

####  `we are still here, safe and sound`

####  `but still FUCKING BORED`

####  `we didnt explore this place beyond our ship since the crash so we are on that now`

####  `not that we need to or anything`

####  `turns out: THIS PLACE IS BORING AS HELL`

####  `but still taako merle and i decided to put on our pressurized suits and go on a walk`

####  `and merle’s cousins stayed behind to look over our stuff`

####  `you know, from moon dangers`

####  `not because taako pissed off one or several of them`

####  `and then merle also took his side`

####  `and someone threw a punch so I joined in`

####  `because punching is MY THING`

####  `and they kinda kicked us`

####  `except thats kinda how it went down`

####  `ANYWAY`

####  `nothing new to report here`

####  `wait`

####  `OH SHIT`

####  `ITS ANOTHER SHIP`

####  `nevermind it was just a scrap`

####  `to think that could have been us gives me the chills`

####  `GOOD NIGHT CAREY!`

####  `--- 8.31.2364 ---`

####  `GOOD MORNING CAREY!`

####  `still looking around`

####  `weve found even more scraps`

####  `none of them could be salvaged though`

####  `im afraid it all will be buried under this golden sand for all eternity`

####  `hey speaking of golden sand`

####  `did you know people used to believe this place was made of gold???`

####  `it was a lie`

####  `everything is just shiny and yellow for some reason but its not gold`

####  `MAYBE ITS PISS`

####  `ANCIENT PISS FROM THE DWARVES`

####  `HAHAHAHA`

####  `merle informs me thats offensive and I shoulndt make drawven piss jokes anymore`

####  `GOOD NIGHT CAREY`

####  `--- 8.32.2364 ---`

####  `GOOD MORNING CAREY!`

####  `my legs are sore from walking so much`

####  `Morning! My butt hurts from sitting so much`

####  `and we still havent found anything interesting`

####  `CAREY`

####  `YOU ARE BACK`

####  `Yass`

####  `HOLY SHIT I HAVE SO MUCH TO TELL YOU`

####  `Is it about the fist fight or the piss?`

####  `so we may or may not have had a fight with merle’s cousins and YEP THAT WAS IT`

####  `lmao`

####  `where are you now???`

####  `We are stopping on Avior`

####  `oh I love that place!!!`

####  `Yeah me too!`

####  `I mean, nothing interesting ever happens in there so I dont think ill have much to tell you`

####  `But seeing how you guys have been doing lately I gues I cant complain!`

####  `have a good time`

####  `we'll keep exploring here`

####  `TAAKO AND MERLE SAY HI`

***

They were greeted by a beautiful expanse of green grass over green hills, until the ground met the sky, also green, at the horizon. The last time Carey had stopped by Avior, the only moon of the dwarf Carina, had been a year ago, in between jobs. The place was still the same, a small but lovely Halfling community where everyone knew each other. It reminded Carey of home, with less assholes.

This time they stopped after lunch, so there was no rush for finding a table at the nearest food place. Carey still didn’t want to pass the opportunity to eat real food, though. “I know a corn place around here, we should go before we leave.”

“Sounds good,” said Killian, who was currently talking to one of the workers, a Halfling man, at the service station. After she was done paying paying for fuel, she turned to Carey and asked, “How far is it from here?”

“Like half an hour, forty minutes?”

“By feet?”

“By ship! It is kind of on the other side of the moon.”

Avior was a small satellite, the total of its surface wouldn’t be greater than that of Neverwinter City. However, it was still a lot of walking distance. Small bodies like these usually had a denser population around one side, in Avior’s case it was the one facing its planet. Killian had parked the ship on the dark side.

“I don’t think we’ll have the time, remember we are on a tight schedule.”

Carey sighed. “Come on, what’s half an hour more? This trip is already two weeks long.”

“Two weeks _behind_ ,” Killian reminded her in a not so nice tone. It startled Carey, but she knew Killian was more angry at herself than anything.

“Well, why did we stop at the dark, anyway? All the fun stuff is on the other side, we can’t even see Carina.”

“We saw it on our way here.”

“It’s not the _same_ , what about our selfie? It’s tradition!”

Killian raised an eyebrow at that. “So it’s tradition now? After only one time?”

“Traditions have to start somewhere, and I’m just saying Avior doesn’t have much variety of background. At least Carina is red.”

“We’ll find something up to your standards, come on,” she said as she walked out of the parking lot of the only service station (and building, really) in miles around. She called for the Halfling man one more time and asked, “Excuse me, do you know what exit is best to get here?” And she pointed at some place in the map.

Or rather, Carey noticed… a pamphlet? Something big with a map printed on it. Once Killian was done talking to the man, she looked at it one more time before continuing.

“Where are we going, anyway?” Asked Carey.

Killian turned around and, surprising Carey, smiled at her. “Somewhere I’ve meant to visit for quite some time. You’ll like it.”

Not knowing how to answer that, Carey just followed.

***

They walked for around an hour without seeing a single road sign, and it wasn’t like Killian expected big neon lights, but following a map was hard where even the landmarks all looked the same. Hill, grass, hill, grass, and every time she asked someone from the zone they gave vague answers.

“Ah, yes, that’s right around the hill.”

“Fifteen minutes by feet- oh, but you have longer legs. Maybe ten.”

“Have you girls eaten? We have some pie for sale.”

Killian sighed, “No, thanks, just give me the directions-”

“Do you have cranberry?” Said Carey.

So, she remained unsure of where they were headed the entirety of the trip.

“Ki’ian, are ‘e ‘ost?” Carey asked with her mouth full of pie.

“No,” Killian answered. _I hope_ , she thought. “I’m just getting used to the landscape.”

Carey gulped the last bit of pie she had left and said, “You know, I’ve been here before, so maybe if you told me…”

“It’s a surprise,” Killian cut her. “Besides, you’ve never seen this place before.”

Carey huffed. “How are you so sure?”

“Because if you had, you would have mentioned it when we got here.”

“Or maybe I didn’t because Avior is a nice little moon where nothing exciting ever happens. You know what’s exciting, though? Corn, they let you add butter right there.”

“You can eat corn anywhere-”

“Not in _my_ homeplanet! Corn is a privilege, you know? Don’t take it for granted!”

Killian sighed. “We’ll get corn later, okay? We should be close, according to this map.”

“Can you at least tell me about the _place_ we are going? Maybe I can help you look around.”

That… was going to be hard.

“Well?”

“Let’s say, what we are looking for is the _place_ itself.”

Carey’s expression didn’t change while she slowly fell on her back.

“Carey!” Killian ran to check on her.

But Carey was lying peacefully on the floor, arms extended to her sides. “I’m fine, I know how to fall. I just do that to be dramatic.”

Killian sighed for the second time in less than a minute. “You should have told me before! But are you sure you are okay?”

“Yeah, I’m just a little tired. Haven’t been doing much exercises lately.”

“Ha. Me neither,” Killian extended a hand, which Carey took right away, and Killian began pulling her up until she noticed the four-leafed clover stuck between two of her face scales.

“We are here!” She said, letting go of Carey by accident.

“Oof!”

“Sorry!” She grabbed her hand again. “I should have looked down. Not even a sign to mark the place! Gods know how long we’ve been walking already in here.

“Where? What is this place?”

“Look around you!”

And so did Carey. She didn’t seem to notice at first. “It’s just grass, clovers and…” and that’s when she noticed, Killian knew, because her eyes opened wide, and then her mouth, and then she said, “No way!”

All around them, for many feet, even miles around, the ground was covered in four-leaf clovers.

Carey immediately crouched down and took one, looking it over carefully. “Wait, is this real? Are these actual clovers?”

“Yep,” she picked her magazine and read straight from one of the pages. “ _While there are many species of four-leafed plants, such as_ Oxalis tetraphylla _and_ Marsilea Quadrifolia _, the garden found on Avior has been confirmed both by native and alien botanists to be_ Trifolium repens _, also known as clover. The four-leaf gene has a chance of 1 in 5000 to appear, but it sprouts naturally in this garden, earning it the title of_ Luckiest place in the galaxy _,_ ” she put the magazine down and looked back at Carey again, who now had over ten clovers on her head. “It’s been on my bucket list for years, and I figured, you know, it’s on the way.”

“How didn’t I know of this place? How didn’t _anyone_ know?”

“Lots of people know. I bet you would too if you had asked around.”

“Well, I didn’t have much time to look around on my last visit. So, what’s the deal with this place? How does this happen?”

Killian shrugged. “No one knows. There are a few theories listed here, like genetic modification, but the place has been tested and results show nothing unusual.”

“So, just plain luck.” And then, Carey opened her eyes wide again. “Hey, hey, hey, what if!”

“What if what?”

“Do you have a coin?”

Killian smiled, already on what Carey wanted to do. She checked her pockets and took the smallest coin she could find and tossed it up, then caught it mid air and covered it with one hand.

“Tails!”

Killian uncovered the coin, which had landed in tails.

Carey went bananas. “HOLY SHIT! HOLY SHIT!! DO IT AGAIN, TAILS!”

As she was told, Killian repeated the whole process, toss, catch, cover, and when she checked it again…

It was heads.

“Aw, man.”

“Nice try, though.”

“You can’t prove that first try wasn’t because of the clovers!”

Killian put the coin back in her pocket. Then, and just because she was already on it, Killian got her phone and opened the camera. “How about we take that selfie now?”

“Hell yes! Just a second,” Carey plucked some clovers and quickly arranged them all over Killian’s hair. “Ok, now we are ready. Say clover!”

“Clover, I guess.”

She saw herself and Carey staring back, both covered in clovers, and that image would be saved on her phone for all eternity.

On the way back Killian finally started to feel hungry again, but Carey’s corn place was still too far to make it in time. Lucky for them, just around a hill, they found an _I Hate Mondays_.

“Seriously?” Killian said.

“Yep.”

And they walked in.

***

####  `HEY`

####  `MAGNUS`

####  `CAREY`

####  `YOU ARE NOT GOING TO BELIEVE WHAT WE SAW AT AVIOR`

####  `OH YEAH? WELL YOU ARE NOT GOING TO BELIEVE WHAT /WE/ SAW HERE`

####  `THERE WAS THIS CLOVER FIELD BUT EVERY CLOVER WAS A FOUR LEAFED CLOVER`

####  `THERE’S A ROCK THAT LOOKS LIKE A DOG`

####  `Pfff`

####  `obviously mine is better`

####  `Sure, big guy`

***

####  `>Travel Log 8.35.2364-1: We are approaching Volta. Will take a short rest tomorrow before continuing on.`

####  `>WARNING: Weather forecast for Volta: Thunderstorm season is about to begin.`


	10. Thunderstorm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carey is exhausted, Killian gets a call, and Magnus does a hit.

Killian’s plan to fix Carey’s sleep schedule was going as well as one would expect. Killian had good intentions, but Carey’s body worked in mysterious ways. Most of the time, she wouldn’t go to sleep until four in the morning, and that was good, that was natural for her.

And then, on the other end of that spectrum, she found herself awake as early as six. Like that very moment. Why? Well, Volta, their next destination, had a storm.

Volta was known for its storms. They were big, even more than those back at home, but they only lasted a week instead of all year round. Carey could feel it. Well, she couldn’t _feel_ feel it, since they weren’t even close to Volta’s atmosphere yet, but knowing it was close made her all jittery. Being inside the ship didn’t help either.

“Carey?”

She almost jumped out of her seat. “Killian! What are you doing up? It’s too early.”

“I should be saying that,” Killian muffled a yawn and sat up straight. “How long have you been up.”

Carey shrugged. “A while? Something woke me up earlier and I wasn’t able to sleep again. You know, it happens.”

“It does happen, but all the times I’ve accidentally woken you up, you’ve fallen back asleep right away. Is something wrong? I haven’t seen you like this ever since Neverwinter.”

Damn Killian and her good perception skills. “It’s nothing, just my anxiety catching up to the week.”

“Right, it’s Monday again.”

“Hard to keep track of time when you travel, huh?” She meant that as a joke, mostly to keep herself up, but now Killian wasn’t looking too good. She was on a schedule, after all. _Good job, Fangbattle._ “Don’t worry, I’ll feel better after a walk. You can go back to sleep if you want.”

“No, I’m fine. We are about to land anyways. Better get ready now so we can go out sooner.”

Carey smiled. “Thanks. Are we having breakfast out today?”

“Sounds good to me.” Killian as stood up and stretched.

They wouldn’t land in another two hours, but Carey already felt… well, not calm, but better. Better was the word. And those couple hours went by much faster than the little time she had spent awake alone.

***

The landing was rougher than usual due to the heavy rain. Killian could barely see anything beyond the curtain of water and the occasional flashes of light from nearby lightning, so she had to tread very carefully and hope the ship wouldn’t crash against anything on the way down. And that was not accounting for the strong winds. But in the end, it was over without any major incidents. “Alright, that was hard but it’s done. I think there must be a raincoat your size in the shelf so you can put it on before going…” she turned around to see Carey open the door and leap outside. “… Out. Or you could just, you know, catch a cold.”

“What did you say?! The rain is very loud here!”

“I said I’m coming!”

Two minutes later Killian was out with a big raincoat, boots, and an umbrella.

“Is that you?” Carey asked. “I can barely see you under all that plastic.”

“I have no wish for getting rained on, unlike some reckless people.”

“It’s not ‘getting rained on’ if I chose it,” said Carey matter-of-factly, but she still sneaked under the umbrella beside her.

Killian snorted. “Come on, let’s find some place to eat.”

They walked for a while. Killian expected to find a restaurant or cafe near the center of town, but nothing was open.

“Maybe it’s too early,” said Carey. She walked out of the umbrella’s protection and stood in the middle of the street. Before Killian could warn her against it, Carey said, “It’s fine, I don’t hear any cars coming,” and she looked in every direction. “Oh! I know that sign! Over there!” She went back to Killian and pointed at some place a block away. “Onwards!”

The closer they got, the more familiar the building seemed to Killian, until they got in front of it and she could see clearly the sign of the _I Hate Mondays_. Only this sign, unlike the previous three she had seen along her journey, was turned off.

“Wait… You gotta be kidding me!” Carey walked to the entrance and tried to pull, then push, one door open to no avail.

“Give it up, Carey, it’s no use.”

Carey returned to Killian with a look of complete astonishment. “I can’t believe it, I’ve never seen one of those closed.”

“I think you’ve been under the rain for too long. Let’s go.”

Killian dragged Carey inside the first place she could find that was open, not even caring about the sign outside. Only when they were past the door she noticed it was a pharmacy. Their presence seemed to surprise the only person behind the desk.

“What can I help you with- Jesus, you are soaking wet!”

“Sorry,” Killian explained, “we just wanted a place to hide from the rain for a minute.”

“Oh. That’s fine. Are you sure you don’t want something for the cold?” They said, looking at Carey.

Carey just shrugged. “I’m fine.”

The store clerk didn’t seem convinced in the sightliest, but they didn’t push the subject.

“Actually,” said Killian, since they were already there, “can I bother you with some directions? We are trying to find some place to eat but everything is closed.”

A look of confusion swept over the face of the store clerk. “A place to eat? _Now_?”

“Well, if it’s too early we can wait for it to open.”

“Oh, that’s not what I mean. Storm season is just starting. Stores are closed until next week.”

“Wh- All of them?!”

“I mean,” the clerk pointed at their surroundings. “Anything that’s not too vital for the community. But even groceries have to be bought at the supermarket, it’s the only type of building that can withstand the shortages.”

Killian and Carey groaned at the same time.

“I think we chose the wrong place to make a stop,” said Killian.

“Wait, you are _tourists_? Why would you even stop here? The whole planet is in hibernation! You better get going soon, the forecast predicted lightning strikes today. Oh, but do come next week. The town is lovely the rest of the year.”

They left the pharmacy in even lower spirits than they had entered.

“Food trucks and carts, I can understand, but even buildings?” Carey huffed. “If they can’t stand a bit of lightning a few days a year they should live underground.”

Killian sighed. “Even if they had better infrastructures, people don’t go out much during storms.”

“What are they so afraid of? Back home we had never ending storms and active volcanoes around the corner. This is just water!”

“Well, even ‘just water’ can get you sick, and falling on the slippery floor? Not everyone was born with scales and claws.”

As if to make a point of it, Carey turned back fast and ran back to where they came from. It seemed to Killian she moved even better now, maybe it really was a Dragonborn thing.

“Fine!” Carey yelled from thirty feet away. “Let’s go get food at the ship and then come back.”

“Carey, we can’t come back.”

“What?!”

“I said!” Killian yelled, catching up to Carey, trying not to fall on the way there, “We aren’t coming back.”

Carey did that thing with her mouth that wasn’t a pout, but Killian had learned to interpret as such because it was always followed by something childish. “But it’s haven’t been an hour yet! You said we had three per visit! Why can’t we stay just a little more?”

“Because-,” Thunder rolled, sucking in the rest of Killian’s phrase. Killian sighed in exasperation, “Because there’s a _storm_ , there’s nothing else we can do in here, and _I_ am not immune to lightning strikes.”

Carey looked down, and Killian thought she would say something else on her case, but instead she simply sighed. “You are right, sorry. I forgot we are kind of running here.”

Killian then realized Carey hadn’t rally been much better than that morning. “What’s wrong, Carey? You’ve been upset all day.”

“I know. I’m just… really exhausted. I haven’t been able to get a proper rest ever since I ran away from the Belt’s Guard and it’s taking its toll on me.”

“You should have told me,” Killian said in a sever tone.

“I didn’t want to worry you, not after you made the effort of driving us here _and_ stopping from time to time so I don’t go mad aboard that ship. And that’s on top of all this issue you have with Brian.”

Hearing his name from Carey’s mouth was like a bucket of cold water. Well, more buckets of cold water. “Okay, one, I don’t have an issue with him.”

Carey huffed. “Yeah, sure.”

“ _And two_ , we are traveling together, so your problems are my problems too.”

“I know, I’m _sorry_. That’s why I didn’t want to tell you! You don’t have to worry about me!”

“But I’m worried, Carey! I _care_ about you!”

The words came out of her mouth before she had a chance to think about them in depth, and only after hearing them, and the _silence_ that came after, Killian thought that maybe that wasn’t the best choice of words.

“I mean-,” she covered her face with one hand. “Sorry, that was weird.”

“No, you are right,” Carey said, “we’re friends.”

It wasn’t the first time Carey had called her a friend, but this time, it took Killian a little by surprise. She didn't’ have many close friends. Interpersonal relationships were… not high on her list. But she did care about Carey, and that surprised her. They had only met a week before, but what do you call spending time with someone, visiting strange places, and talking about the universe until both fall asleep looking at the stars?

“Yeah,” Killian said. “We are friends.”

“I knew you were a softie the moment we met.”

Killian pulled Carey closer and gave her a bear hug. “Who are you calling soft?”

“Ugh, stop! I can’t breathe!”

***

Walking from the cold outside to the ship’s warmth was nice, but the true relief was shedding all the extra layers of clothing. Killian quickly put them in a coat hanger in the bathroom; she’d had to clean up the little trail of droplets from the entrance. And then, there was Carey, still walking around drenched in water.

Killian glared at her.

“Maybe I should change clothes,” said Carey.

“Yes, please,” and she pointed at the coat hanger in the shower. Carey took the hint easily and picked a fresh set of clothes and a towel before entering.

Five minutes later, she came out dry and clean. Killian was already starting the ship and praying to the gods that take off would be easier than parking. The ship started hovering, and she made sure there were no other ships around that could take off at the same time and bump against her (she had some experience with that).

Suddenly, loud thunder roared. A strong gust of wind out of nowhere pushed the ship to the side, making it collide against a street lamp.

The rain had stopped.

“Woah!” Carey, who wasn’t on her seat yet, grabbed to Killian’s for stability.

“Fuck! You gotta be kidding me, I just fixed the ship last week!”

“Killian…,” said Carey in a small voice.

“What is it?” Killian turned around just in time for a very bright, two seconds flash, shedding light into the ship and reflecting on Carey’s big yellow eyes. They were wide open.

“I need to get out.”

 _What_ , is what Killian mouthed, but even she couldn’t hear her own voice muffled by the sound of the loudest thunder so far. The windows shook like the world was ending.

Carey ran to the door. “Killian, let me out!”

“What are you doing? We are hovering over ten feet from the ground!”

“I’ve fallen from worse! I mean, I won’t fall! Please!”

Against her better judgement, Killian opened the door. Carey crawled out the ceiling of the ship and she listened to the steps above her, still too confused to do anything else. Then, she saw Carey by her side of the window. She jumped to the lamppost on the street, and from there to a building nearby.

“Hey!”

“This is not illegal!” She climbed to the top of the building. Just when Killian thought things couldn’t get weirder, Carey ran to a lightning rod and held it with both hands.

“Carey! Wait!”

One second. Carey said, “It’s-”

Two seconds, and she was struck by lightning. Killian’s heart stopped.

Three seconds, “-fine.” Carey finished, looking completely normal.

Killian let go of the air she had been holding until then. “Jesus. Fucking Dragonborns. Right.”

When Carey climbed back inside the ship, Killian was still trying to get over that whole scene.

“Oh, sorry, I thought you knew.”

“Blue Dragonborns need to recharge, I guess I should have known.”

“If it makes you feel better, I don’t feel sick anymore.”

“It does,” Killian said. She opened a drawer and picked two cereal bars, offering one to Carey.

“Oh, heads up, I’m a bit static-y right now, so maybe let’s not touch each other for a couple days.”

Killian dropped the bar on Carey’s seat. “No more hugs then?”

“Actually, if all your hugs are going to be like the one you just gave me, yes, you can touch me right now.”

“Pass.”

***

####  `Boy I haven’t felt this good in weeks`

####  `We caught a thunderstorm on Volta and now I’m fully charged`

####  `thats nice`

####  `? You ok bud?`

####  `sorry im a bit cranky`

####  `i did a hit`

####  `on whom?`

####  `taako`

####  `Jesus`

####  `he was being mean!`

####  `we found this cave okay`

####  `and i mentioned how i hate dark places because spiders like to live there`

####  `then merle said there was a spider on me`

####  `and taako made that spider thing with his hand on my shoulder`

####  `so I`

####  `Punched him`

####  `He weighs like ONE POUND MAGNUS YOU CAN LITERALLY KILL HIM`

####  `WELL HE COULDVE KILLED ME FROM A HEART ATTACK`

####  `hes fine anyway`

####  `merle is doing his job for once and taking care`

####  `You sound really cranky, man, are you sure theres nothing else going on?`

####  `we are just tired`

####  `its been a rough week`

####  `Aaah, I get you`

####  `basically everyone is cranky and we hate each other`

####  `Would you rather being alone`

####  `MAYBE I DO`

####  `… okay i dont mean that`

####  `i wouldnt mind NOT BEING TRAPPED in a legendary lost moon`

####  `but I guess theres worse company`

####  `…`

####  `andmaybetheresachanceimgladimwiththem`

####  `BUT DONT TELL THOSE ASSHOLES I SAID THAT`

####  `I already screenshoted that bro sorry`

####  `FUCK`

####  `JK I dont have screenshots here this is a brick`

####  `But remember all that next time you have a fight`

####  `Go to separate corners`

####  `you are right`

####  `And apologize to Taako for almost killing him`

####  `SIGH`

####  `fine`

####  `how are things over there?`

####  `Awesome! Did I mention I got struck by lightning a while ago?`

####  `OH SHIT YOU DIDNT`

####  `THATS THE COOLEST SHIT IVE READ`

####  `but I meant between you and Killian`

####  `you guys havent punched each other yet have you?`

####  `Nah`

####  `cool`

####  `We’re pretty chill`

####  `cool!`

####  `wait you guys havent fought?`

####  `like AT ALL?`

####  `Uh, no? Why should we?`

####  `because youve been alone for a week`

####  `people get on your nerves`

####  `case in point: i punched taako`

####  `Oh Killian’s not like that`

####  `She’s super nice, I could never be angry at her`

####  `really`

####  `not even a bit mad? after all this time?`

####  `Are you kidding? She’s the reason I’m not going mad`

####  `… oooooooooh`

####  `What`

####  `i seeeeeee`

####  `What is that supposed to mean`

####  `nothing`

####  `Magnus Burnsides`

####  `What are you implying there **(!)**`

####  `OH COME ON **(!)**`

####  `NOW? SERIOUSLY? **(!)**`

***

“I don’t get it,” whispered Carey.

“Just play along,” whispered Killian back.

“But… but it’s so dumb…”

“I know.”

The next three days passed by, three days filled with tons of accidental static attacks, but Killian couldn’t find it in herself to get mad at Carey for that. It was true she was looking better, to the point her usual anxiety preceding their next stop was completely gone.

“Maybe we should skip this one,” Killian had joked.

“Not a chance! We didn’t get our selfie in our last stop, and I _need_ to see this flat planet.”

And so, three days later they arrived on Earth.

As far as touristic destinations went, Earth was a cool place to visit. It had a variety of climates no other planet in the system could match. Deserts, glaciers, forests, even volcanoes, all on the same world. People all over the galaxy came to this place, they said if you couldn’t afford to see everything in Faerun, Earth was a good summary.

But centuries ago, someone decided tourism wasn’t as high as it could be and came up with a publicity stunt to catch the eye of people all over the Galaxy. Yep, that stunt was the flat planet theory. The stunt obviously flopped because no one was dumb enough to believe it. They quickly hid every piece of advertisement about the subject and everyone forgot about it.

Until centuries later people from their own planet found them and, well…

“And if you look down to your left, you can see… THE EDGE OF THE WORLD!”

The touristic guide was really into it, more than any of the people who had paid for the tour, Carey and Killian included. The woman at the tourism office advised not to question any of the stuff these people said, as doing so could make them angry.

So they leaned over with the rest of the crew and ooh’d and aah’d at the best of their capacity.

“Killian, it’s just a fall.”

“I know."

“I can see the bottom if I squint.”

“There is no bottom!" Anounced the tour guide, unaware of their conversation. "Because it is The Edge! Of the world!”

Killian pulled her phone out, “Wanna take a picture at the end of the world?”

“Oh, hell yes.”

At least the end of the world had good food to offer. There was, unsurprisingly, another _I Hate Mondays_ in there, but Killian was getting tired of junk food so they opted for something more ethnic and bought hot dogs from a cart. Carey filled hers with everything the cart had to offer, it amazed Killian she was able to fit it in her mouth, and finished it in two quick bites. Was it a Dragonborn thing? Killian was still having trouble eating hers without spilling everywhere. “Are these actually made of dog?”

Killian shrugged. “I don’t know, humans are weird. Can you hold mine while I unlock the door?”

“Sure. And I mean, yeah, that pretty much sums up this whole day. Isn’t your boss human?”

Killian laughed. She could barely see how Madame Director could be related to those people. They walked inside, “Isn’t your best friend human too?”

“Yeah, but he is a little weird.”

“If he hangs out with you…” Killian’s phrase got lost as she felt the buzz in her jacket’s pocket.

“Well, guess who else is hanging out with me? That’s right you just dunked…!”

“I need to get this call, be right back.”

“… yourself. Uh, sure.”

Killian left the ship and looked for a relatively empty place outside to answer. Brad’s name was written on the screen.

“Hello, Brad? I’m sorry I haven’t called. I’m still on my way to Phandalin.”

There was no answer from the other end, it was quiet. Maybe Brad had butt dialed her in his sleep? Killian was about to hang up until a small, strangled sound finally came. It was a sob.

“… Brad,” she said in the softer voice she could muster, “Brad, are you ok?”

 _“Killian…”_ another sob. It broke Killian’s heart; in the years she had known him, Brad rarely cried in front of her, or anyone for that matter. At least it meant he was finally letting out his feelings.

“It’s okay, Brad, it’s going to be okay.”

 _“No,”_ he said, _“you should come back.”_

Killian sighed, “Thanks for worrying about me, but I’m not turning around now.”

 _“It doesn’t matter, Killian, he’s not coming back. I found…”_ he muffled a sob.

“Just let it out, and I promise, everything will be-”

_“I found his ring.”_

She almost dropped her phone.

Brad was trying his darn best to speak coherently for more than two seconds. _“Father asked me to clean up his room and it was… it was just there, on top of his desk. He left it here and he’s… he’s never coming back…”_

And he broke down again. Killian listened to him on the other end without saying a word, still trying to wrap her mind around this new piece of information.

Rationality told her Brad was right, and she should’ve given up her mission right then and there, go back home with Brad, who needed her now more than ever.

But she didn’t start the mission being rational.

_“Maybe father was right, maybe he never even loved me to begin with. Why would he? I’m not nearly as smart or beautiful as-”_

“You are wrong.”

_“… Killian?”_

“Brian has lost his mind. He erased all of his research from the Bureau’s databases, stole a ship, and set to find a myth based on situational evidence because he is an idiot. And he’s an asshole. But even he wouldn’t do that. Not to you.”

_“But-”_

“He loves you, Brad.”

Brad remained silent, and Killian worried he wouldn’t believe her now, the only time he needed to be an optimist.

And then, he spoke up again. _“Thank you.”_ His voice was still hoarse from crying, but he sounded sincere.

Killian sighed with relief. “I’ll get to the bottom of this, Brad, it’s a promise. I need to get going again, so I won’t be online for another three days, but if anything happens, call the Director.”

_“I will. Goodbye, Killian.”_

“Goodbye, Brad.” She was about to hang up when Brad spoke again.

_“Wait! If you see him…”_

“ _When_ I see him.”

_“… Tell Brian I love him.”_

“Will do.”

And she hung up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :0  
> EDIT: Due to life circumstances, next chapter will be up on Thursday.


	11. Wega

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carey takes a small detour.

Just when Carey thought everything would be easier on both of them…

Things had been really quiet for the next three days after Earth. Carey was holding up just fine, her anxiety was slowly toning down, and with each new destination the three day wait became more bearable. She has learning to enjoy this unplanned trip.

“Oh, Goldcliff! I’ve been there before. There’s this whole organization that runs illicit races on the rings.”

“Hm.”

“But if you don’t want to get into that side, their beaches are also really good. Do you feel like swimming.”

“Hm… sorry, what were you saying?”

Too bad Killian wasn’t really feeling it anymore.

Ever since their trip to Earth, Killian had spent the whole trip to herself. Not sad, not exhausted, just… thinking. Carey’s suspicions were on the phone call she got, right before they left. She tried to ask, but Killian avoided the subject, and the rest of the time she just didn’t pay attention.

“Goldcliff. Races. Beach. Any of that get your attention?”

Killian looked to the front for a solid ten seconds before answering. “Yeah, sounds good.”

“Which part?”

“Everything, yeah.”

“So you’ll go swimming with me?”

“What? Oh, sorry, I don’t feel like swimming right now.”

“Not _right this moment_ , when we get to Goldcliff!”

But Killian was already back inside her mind. Carey worried, but it wasn’t like Killian had something that could be cured with pills for the nausea and three hours to stretch her legs.

 

####  `maybe it’s personal.`

####  `You think?`

####  `killian would tell you if it was about the mission`

####  `Right`

####  `Of course she would.`

####  `But I’m still worried you know`

####  `She doesn’t seem like herself`

####  `you’ve known each other for two weeks`

####  `We’ve got to know each other very well!`

####  `oh reeeeeeally????????`

####  `I’m going offline`

####  `NO WAIT`

####  `ok but seriously`

####  `it’s nice that you want to help, but maybe`

####  `juuuuust maybe`

####  `this isn’t your business`

 

The mere suggestion made Carey gasp out loud. “How dare you!”

“If you need to text your friends,” Killian’s voice came from the other side of the door, “do it somewhere else. I have to pee.”

“Coming!”

 

####  `if she doesn’t want to talk about it just let it be`

####  `she’s an adult `

 

It was hard to admit, but Magnus had a point. Carey opened the door one handed, while she typed her answer with the other…

And she saw Killian leaning over the control panel, head on her hands.

Carey stood at the entrance to the bathroom for what seemed minutes, unable to move. _Is she…?_

Until Killian grunted, breaking the moment. She sat up straight, sighed, and said, “Carey, you still in there?”

“Y-yeah! I mean, no!”

Killian stood up, walking to the bathroom like nothing had happened, maybe didn’t even notice Carey had seen her like that. At least she looked like normal.

Carey sat on her seat and sighed at her phone. She forgot about whatever she was going to write next. She sighed.

The blinking lights of the control panel caught her eye. The biggest one was Goldcliff, followed by Phandalin after a dotted line. Two days to their final destination, it seemed both like the shortest and longest time ever. At least they’d be on Goldcliff in a matter of hours. Good for herself, but Carey doubted Goldcliff had anything for Killian’s worries.

Then, almost hidden under the dotted line, a light blinked right between Goldcliff and Phandalin. Carey squinted her eyes, trying to read the small font of the name on the panel: Wega. That sounded familiar. Oh, right! Carey had been there before. But nobody used that name.

The door to the bathroom opened.

“Killian?” Carey said.

“Hm?”

“Are you listening?”

“Mhm.”

“Are you _really_ listening?”

“Yes, Carey.”

“Good! Can we skip Goldcliff and stop somewhere else?”

Killian sat next to her and let out a sigh of resignation. “Are you banned from Goldcliff too?”

“Wow, way to jump to the worst possible conclusion.”

Killian raised an eyebrow.

“… Okay, I have a track record, but this is not about that. I just know a place around this area that I haven’t visited in a while and I thought, well, since we are on the neighbourhood.”

“Sure, as long as it’s not too far from our route. Where is it?”

Carey pointed at the little blinking light on the panel.

“This is a day from here, are you sure?”

“Yep,” Carey said. Killian still looked worried, like she had the right. “It’s fine, really, I’m getting used to this, what’s a day more at this point?”

Killian wasn’t in a mood to argue, so they agreed on waiting another day for their next stop. Carey could handle it, it was for a good cause.

***

It was a good day outside when they finally landed on Wega. Carey couldn’t wait to show Killian around, but as always, she was taking her time.

“Come on, come on! What’s taking you so long?”

“I can’t find my jacket.”

“It’s like 70 degrees outside, you don’t need a jacket!” Carey peered inside the ship only to find Killian standing in front of a shelf, definitely not looking for her jacket. “Hey, you feeling alright?”

Killian stood there in silence for a moment before sighing. “I don’t know, I think I’ll pass today. Just go have fun without me.”

Oh, like hell she would. She considered dragging Killian out herself, but she was at least twice her size. Carey had to think of another way.

So Carey looked around. Wega was too small to be considered a planet, it was more like an asteroid with an atmosphere, and ninety percent of its surface was water ponds. That’s right, they were too shallow to be called oceans. Centuries ago, human colonizers had found it perfect to settle a small colony, and with them they brought… Aha! Just what she was looking for.

Carey ran back to the ship. “Are you _suuuuuure_ you don’t want to come out?”

“Mhm,” Killian said, still not turning around.

And then, _Cuack!_

That worked. Killian turned around right away, and when she saw the small duckling in Carey’s hands, her eyes went wide.

“Is that…?”

The duckling cuacked again, and another, deeper cuack came from behind Carey. She let the chick go back with the rest of its family and watched them march onwards.

She turned to face Killian again. “Oh, you didn’t know? They call this place Duck Planet.”

Carey watched how, slowly, the surprise gave way to other emotions in Killian’s face. Awe, joy, pure love.

“Oh my god… oh my god!” She ran to the door. “They are everywhere!” Killian covered her face with both hands, her smile so wide it showed every fang on her mouth. Carey had never seen her like that before.

“Do you wanna go feed some ducks?”

Killian answered with a squee.

Ducks, ducks everywhere, and that was pretty much all that was to Wega. It didn’t come as a surprise that they would thrive in an environment like that, the water was rich in algae and fish similar to those found on their native planet.

Aside from them, most of the population were elderly humans, but the place attracted a good number of tourists every year. Signs all around warned people not to feed ducks with bread, and instead healthy duck snacks were offered on every corner. Killian bought a bag and nervously offered some of it to the ducks, who were already so used to tourists they flocked her. Before anyone noticed, Killian was trapped between twenty-something flapping birds, and she couldn’t stop laughing.

It was _adorable_.

“How come I’ve never heard about this place?” Killian said between laughs and small screams of surprise.

“Didn’t they ever talk about it in those magazines you like to read?”

“Never! Ah, ha, ha, ha! I would know! Why didn’t I know?!”

Eventually, Killian ran out of food, and most of the ducks scrambled away in search of more nice tourists. One duck, however, stayed around, cuacking at Killian frantically.

“We don’t have any more food,” Carey said to the duck, “wait until we get more!”

But _cuack_ , _cuack_ , _cuack_ , the duck wouldn’t listen, and wouldn’t leave them alone either. Killian reached down and, when the duck didn’t shy away from her, picked it up and held it in her arms. At this point she was practically crying.

“This… is the best day of my life.”

Carey could stare at her all day. And she would have, hadn’t it been for the authority figure coming to bust her bubble, like they usually did.

“Ma’am, I’m gonna have to ask you to put that duck down.”

A man in his late forties (one of the youngest people in this place, really) dressed in a familiar looking uniform pointed at a sign near them that read PLEASE DON’T PICK UP THE DUCKS.

“Sorry,” said Killian, “I got carried away.”

“’S all right, they are irresistible adorable, these little beasts. You become immune to their charms after they poop all over your stuff.”

Oh, she knew this guy! Carey could forget a face but not that accent. “I remember you! You are the guy named Duck! Who lives in the Duck Planet!”

Duck huffed, but he didn’t seem angry at Carey’s remark, as likely as it was he must have heard it a million times already.

Killian was absolutely delighted. “Wait, is your name really Duck?”

“It’s a nickname.”

“Oh…”

“Sorry to disappoint.”

“N-not at all!”

“And you still need to let that duck go.”

Killian looked at the duck in her arms, who chose that very same moment to cuack again.

“Can I at least take a picture? Please?”

Duck sighed. “Fine, but just one, then you put it down.”

“Thank you! Carey, can you please-?”

“I’m on it,” Carey already had Killian’s phone on her hands and she was unlocking the camera. “Say duckie!”

Killian grabbed her arm and pulled her close. “Come here, this is supposed to be a selfie.”

“R-right!” For some reason, that took Carey by surprise. Why? It was her idea! But she thought maybe Killian would like some time by herself with her new friend first. This was no time to over think, so Carey set the camera straight and said, “Duckie!”

“Duckie!”

“ _Cuack!_ ”

The picture was taken, and under the severe look of Duck (human), Killian let the duck (duck) go. They watched as it waddled to the nearest pond.

The human named Duck also left back to his station, but not before reminding them one last time of the no-picking-up rule, as well as other duck related warnings. Killian bought a couple more of those duck snacks bags and the both of them set on a walk around the place.

“I’m surprised we haven’t seen an _I Hate Mondays_ yet,” Killian said, probably just half-joking.

“They don’t allow cats in this planet.”

“That makes a lot of sense,” Killian laughed. “This place only gets better and better.”

“I’m sorry this isn’t your perfect duck-hugging dream,” Carey said.

Killian laughed even more. “Carey, I’m literally in heaven. There’s no way I can tell you how happy I am right now…” She sighed. As things were right now, it was impossible to her to stop smiling, but Carey could tell it wasn’t an ‘I’m in heaven’ sigh. “I feel kinda guilty.”

“What? Why?”

“Because,” she shrugged, then sighed again. “Everything’s a mess and I’m here, playing with ducks instead of doing anything.”

Carey walked in front of Killian, making the both of them stop. “Listen to you! You’ve literally done _everything_ in your power to fix this mess.”

“I know, but-”

“No buts!” Carey said, holding a finger in front of Killian’s face to shush her up. “You’ve been worrying about everyone else all this trip, Brian, your boss, even me! But there’s nothing wrong with worrying about yourself once in a while.”

Killian looked down and to the side, trying to hide her laugh from Carey, an useless attempt. “You brought us here because you were worried about me,” she said. It wasn’t a question.

Carey wanted to answer back with Killian’s own words, ‘I care about you. You are my friend.’

But Killian wasn’t done. She looked at Carey in the eye and held her hands. “Thank you,” she said, “this means a lot to me.”

Oh.

Suddenly, Carey understood everything and nothing at the same time.

Carey said-

No, she had to think what to say first.

Carey thought-

She couldn’t think. She had to do something.

Carey did-

“Ouch!” Killian let go of her hands.

“Killian!” Carey reached towards her again, but stopped just in time as she heard the telltale buzz of static through her scales. She looked down at her own hands, and they were sparkling. “Shit, I’m sorry!”

“Don’t be! I forgot you were still static.”

No, the period of overcharge only lasted a couple days. Killian had grabbed Carey’s arm just fine a few minutes ago.

“Yeah, sorry, that’s how it is sometimes.”

“I’ll give you some space. Are you good to keep walking around?”

Space was both exactly and the opposite of what Carey wanted at that moment, but she nodded.

Walking with Killian around the Duck Planet for another two hours felt both unbearably eternal, and painfully not long enough.

***

####  `>Travel Log 8.41.2364-1: Leaving Wega. Next stop: Phandalin.`

***

####  `SO`

####  `Something happened today`

####  `OH MY GOD YOU DO LIKE KILLIAN`

####  `WHAT`

####  `NO`

####  `MAYBE`

####  `FUCK`

####  `HOW DID YOU KNOW I HAVENT SAID ANYTHING YET`

####  `i can read you like a book Carey Fangbattle`

####  `you saying “something happened today” and not just what actually happened means it’s something you find difficult to say`

####  `prefacing it by “so” tells me it’s related to something we’ve discussed before`

####  `and making it all caps means it’s something I was right about`

####  `That’s`

####  `Damn`

####  `wink`

####  `I don’t know what to do`

####  `Everything was going great and suddenly she was there with me and I`

####  `I PANICKED`

####  `AND THEN I SHOCKED HER`

####  `OH SHIT`

####  `I KNOW`

####  `And I’m still panicking as you can see`

####  `I don’t know what to do`

####  `that’s easy, just tell her`

####  `No way!`

####  `why not?`

####  `We are stuck in this ship for another day`

####  `What if I make things awkward?`

####  `hmm I don’t know what to tell you, I confessed to julia practically after we met`

####  `Haha yeah you told me that`

####  `I wish I had your guts`

####  `Maybe I should just`

####  `Keep to myself for a while`

####  `i know i’m biased here but that also sounds like a bad idea`

####  `No no listen!`

####  `It’s gonna be fine`

####  `I just have to manage for a little longer and then it'll all be over`

####  `I can see Phandalin already`

####  `We’ll be with you in no time!`

***

Carey could see Phandalin in front of her. This close, she could distinguish the maroon and yellow spots on its surface, no more than two hours ahead of them.

Two hours when they started moving again, but it had been an hour since they encountered the field surrounding its orbit. The automated message from the toll office read on one of the control panel’s screens:

####  `ACCESS TO PHANDALIN CLOSED`

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to Erin (nikiforovs on AO3), whom I tricked into beta reading Duck’s lines for me. Surprise motherfucker.
> 
> We are taking a real break this time. See you next monday!  
> EDIT: Due to the end of semester, update will be pushed another week. Thanks for your patience!


	12. Bureaucracy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carey Fangbattle's gay crisis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SORRY FOR THE DELAY. I decided to add this chapter last minute and, well December wasn’t the best month to do that.  
> BUT WE ARE BACK NOW! AND HALF WAY THERE, SO BUCKLE UP CAUSE THE JOURNEY MIGHT BE OVER BUT THE TRIP IS JUST GETTING WILDER

_Fucking Brian_ , Killian thought, as the line played the waiting tune for the hundredth time.

She knew this wasn’t his fault, of course; not even he could place a force field around and entire planet. What _was_ his fault, was that she had come to Phandalin looking for him.

“Ugh, this is ridiculous!” At least she wasn’t alone in her suffering, for better or worse. Carey was alternating between clawing at her face, groaning and texting her friends. “Magnus says they didn’t know about the field either.”

“Makes sense, he has been trapped for two weeks.”

“But how can you just pull a planetary field without anybody noticing? We’ve been on this trip for two weeks and didn’t hear a single thing about it until, uh, we almost _crashed with it?_ ”

Killian was going to say they didn’t crash, she reacted to the field in time, thank you very much, when the waiting tune stopped.

 _“Phandalin’s toll office, how can I help you?”_ Answered a woman in common.

“Hi! Yes, my name is Killian. I pilot a small private ship and I’m calling because I would like to request access to the planet.”

_“I’m sorry, access to Phandalin has been closed until further notice.”_

“Yes, I know, I’m literally outside the field. Look, I have very important business to-”

 _“You are outside?”_ Killian heard a muffled conversation on the other side in Dwarvish. After a moment, the woman said, _“Hang on, madam. I’ll put you in contact with my supervisor.”_

“Okay, thank-” but she was met with the waiting tune once again, “-you very much.”

Carey raised an eyebrow. “Not very cooperative?”

“As much as they can be,” she combed the hand that wasn’t holding the phone through her hair and sighed. “Sorry, where were we?”

“Just,” Carey extended her arm and pointed to the field through the front window, “fuck our luck.”

“We should have taken more clovers with us.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t have left Avior. If we were there now we could be stuffing ourselves over at that corn place I told you about, instead of dealing with this bureaucracy nonsense.” She huffed. “I know Dwarves aren’t known for their hospitality, but this is a little too much, don’t you think?”

Killian shrugged. “They wouldn’t have been very hospitable with me either way.”

She had meant it as a joke, but Carey’s expression immediately darkened. “If anyone has a problem with you they’ll get through me first.”

“Carey, it’s fine,” she said. Carey didn’t seem to think it was fine, thought, so better change the subject. “I do regret skipping on that corn, so what you say we take a trip to Avior on our way back? Just the two of us, enjoying a vacation like normal people.”

Carey seemed to like the first part of that. However, her mood shifted quickly after Killian was done. She saw the smallest hint of static sparkling through her broken horn. “Yeah, cool,” Carey said, just looking down at her phone.

Did Killian say something wrong?

_“You still there, miss?”_

Well, no time to worry about that. “Yes! Can you help me get inside-?”

“ _We are sorry you had to fly all the way here. If you would like to, we could find you a place to stay nearby while we solve this issue.”_

“Thank you, sir, but I’ve been piloting this ship for weeks and I’m not turning back now. I have important business to attend to in Phandalin. Will you let me in or not?”

_“I’m afraid I don’t have the authority to lift the field.”_

“Then put me in line with someone who does!”

The line went silent. Fuck, maybe she shouldn’t have yelled, it wasn’t the poor guy’s fault- and there was the tune again.

 _Now_ Killian groaned.

“Big mood,” Carey said without taking her eyes from her phone.

***

####  `no yeah the sky is clear`

####  `thats weird right?`

####  `i thought we couldnt see phandalin from here because we were just facing to the other side`

####  `but in that case we should see the field now right?`

####  `Ugh`

####  `I KNOW RIGHT`

####  `WHERE ARE WE`

####  `I wasn’t talking about that`

####  `I mean, ugh that too because we are the ones trying to find you`

####  `But I was ughing at me being an idiot`

####  `did something happen?`

####  `Yes`

####  `I mean, no`

####  `Technically`

####  `carey`

####  `I’m just having a hard time acting normal around Killian`

####  `ooooh is that kind of problem`

####  `And us being trapped alone is NOT HELPING`

####  `youve been traveling alone for weeks tho`

####  `I know but it’s different now that`

####  `You know`

####  `you have the hots for her yes`

####  `DON’T SAY IT LIKE THAT`

####  `maybe this is a sign!`

####  `the universe is giving you time to get your shit together and confess to her`

####  `just the two of you with the stars as your witness`

####  `And you`

####  `and me`

####  `And the people at the toll office`

####  `and the people at the toll office`

####  `wait who`

####  `Magnus I’m literally here to save your ass, you should be worried too!`

####  `What if we don’t make it into Phandalin?`

####  `What if we never find you?`

####  `im not worried because its you!`

####  `when was the last time anyone got to keep you out from where you wanted to go?`

####  `you are an infiltration expert`

####  `Yes, I am ;)`

####  `But even I can’t infiltrate a forcefield`

####  `A planet sized forcefield`

####  `Ugh who fucking closes AN ENTIRE PLANET`

####  `wait did you talk with barry yet?`

####  `What?`

####  `he is inside the field`

####  `You left Barry in Phandalin?!`

####  `didnt we tell you?`

####  `NO?`

####  `How could you!`

####  `it wasnt on purpose!`

####  `he was supposed to come with us on that last day of work`

####  `but gundren wanted us out early and no one could wake him up`

####  `Ok yeah that adds up`

####  `at least he saved himself from this`

####  `The 34th miner`

####  `But you are right, he must know something`

####  `I’ll call him, thank you!`

####  `wait you can make calls?`

####  `CALL ME TOO I MISS YOU`

***

In the time it took the line to pick up again, Killian and Carey had a full conversation with their intel on Phandalin.

_“The field has been up for, uh, at least a week, if I recall correctly.”_

Carey whistled. “An entire week? How didn’t we know about this sooner then?”

_“I would have told you, to be honest it took us by surprise too. They just activated it in the middle of the day, no previous warning or anything, and any official mediums only started talking about it after it was done. That’s all I know, I don’t think I can be of any help.”_

“What did they say?” Killian asked. “Keeping a field this size for so long requires a tremendous amount of energy. Whatever reason they have, it must be a good one.”

_“Yes, they said it was an emergency measure to contain all the shipwrecks.”_

Carey gulped. “Shipwrecks?”

 _“Yeah, you know. There’s been a lot, and I mean_ a lot _of accidents around Phandalin’s orbit recently… Wait, you didn’t know? You are flying here!”_

Something inside Killian lit up. She opened the drawer under the control panel and got the binder containing all the information Madame Director had retrieved from Brian’s office. Some of them were printed news articles from a Dwarvish news site, roughly translated into common with an online translator. They talked about the incidents, some of the most recent listing casualties over the hundreds.

“Yikes,” Carey said. “Well, at least we are not caught in _that_ sort of trouble.”

And it was a lot of trouble. Something this big should’ve been all over the news, specially with that field there. Madame Director or Brad would have called her, so they didn’t know either. Is this what Brian was talking about? This is why he had come here on the first place-?

Ugh, Killian was starting to think like him. Change of train.

A dead end, no possible entry, and that just so they didn’t become another casualty of the Phandalin orbit.

Fuck, what if he was one of those casualties?

 _That_ was one train of thought she was not following.

 _Focu_ s _, Killian, you have a call to make_.

“Killian?” Carey was looking at her, concerned. “You okay?”

“Yeah, sorry,” she turned to the phone, even if Barry couldn’t see her on the other side. “How long have you been in Phandalin, Barry?”

_“Over a month?”_

“And how long was your contract supposed to be? More or less than a month?”

_“Twenty weekdays.”_

“You have an idea,” Carey said, it wasn’t a question.

“Barry, I think you can help us get inside after all.”

Ten minutes later, someone finally picked up the line again. _“Miss Killian?”_

“Yes, hi. I would like to request access to Phandalin.”

_“I’ve been told that. I’ve also been told you have business in our planet, May I inquire more about it?”_

“Of course. I’m here to pick up my friend, Barry-”

Carey coughed. “Sidall Hallwinter.”

“Sorry, his name is Sidall Hallwinter,” she corrected herself. Then whispered, “What?”

“Barry Bluejeans is his nickname.”

“You call him Barry _Bluejeans?_ ” she whispered again. No. focus. “He was supposed to leave two weeks ago but he missed his flight, and the ship he was going to board was lost in an accident. His visa expires soon, too.”

Carey gave her a thumbs up. Killian smiled proudly.

_“Mr. Hallwinter’s stay has been taken care of already. His visa has been granted an indefinite extension due to the circumstances, and he has the right to board on a ship out of planet the moment the field is lifted. You don’t need to pick him up.”_

Killian’s smile faded. “But…” Fuck, that was her whole angle of approach, she didn’t even come up with a plan B. “But he doesn’t have a place to stay.”

_“That, too, has been taken care of.”_

“You can’t just keep him inside! What about…” she tried to think of anything to counter that, but her mind just wasn’t cooperating.

Carey jumped to her aid, literally, as she took the phone from her hands and spoke directly to the man on the other side. “We have other jobs! Jobs we can’t do if he can’t leave Phandalin! He could be fired!” She went silent, listening, then yelled, “Of course he can get fired over this! You don’t know who we work for! No, we will be pressing charges against you! THIS IS KIDNAPPING-!” She fell silent again, an embarrassed look on her face, and she gave the phone back to Killian. “He hung up.”

Killian took a moment to lay on her chair and sigh. Just sigh, really long. “It’s fine. We’ll find another-”

“I have to go,” Carey said out of a sudden, standing up and running to the bathroom. Killian noticed her horn was sparkling again.

“Wait, Carey-” But she was already gone. Killian wondered if she should go after her, but maybe Carey needed some time alone. There hadn’t been much of that for either of them during the trip. Maybe this was all too overwhelming.

Was Killian overwhelming her? The thought made her… sad. That was another train of thought she shouldn’t pursue right now.

Killian took the papers on the panel and arranged them in front of her. There had to be something else they could tell her.

***

####  `I can’t keep doing this I can’t`

####  `dont be so hard on yourself`

####  `weve all done dumb stuff in front of our crush`

####  `No, Magnus, I’m not talking about that`

####  `They didn’t let us in`

####  `oh no`

####  `And I feel like I should come up with something but I can’t`

####  `I’m still too distracted about Killian to DO SOMETHING`

####  `well you cant help it`

####  `you dont get crushes often, this is uncharted territory for you`

####  `But still! I should do better than this`

####  `hmm`

####  `hey, do you wanna talk about it?`

####  `like REALLY talk about it?`

####  `I don’t know`

####  `they guys are here too, they can help`

####  `THEY WHAT?`

####  `MAGNUS THIS IS A PRIVATE CONVERSATION`

####  `YOU KNOW I CANT KEEP SECRETS`

####  `and maybe they can be of more help than me!`

####  `taako has an opinion`

####  `Does he`

####  `he says you should just go and make out with her`

####  `No. Bad advice`

####  `merle also has an opinion`

####  `I will leave my phone in the bathroom for the rest of the trip if he says something stupid`

####  `he says it’s normal to feel confused when you like someone`

####  `Noticed that already`

####  `and you might feel like you have to repress your feelings for the sake of your friendship`

####  `but that won’t do any of you good`

####  `if you distance yourself from Killian you might end up hurting her`

####  `because she won’t know why you are doing it`

####  `…Oh`

####  `it’s ok if you don’t want to act on your feelings right away`

####  `and who knows, maybe after all of this is done they might be gone`

####  `after all, it’s just a crush`

####  `but you guys are still friends`

####  `Yeah…`

####  `so keep doing what you would do as a friend`

####  `be there for her, and let her be there for you`

####  `You are right, Merle`

####  `I can’t believe I just typed that with my own Dragonborn hands`

####  `YEAH MERLE WHAT THE FUCK`

####  `now hes angry we are so surprised`

####  `Can he blame us?`

####  `he says he cant`

####  `Thank you, Merle`

####  `And thank you guys for listening to me`

####  `any time`

####  `if something else happens just tell us`

####  `seriously`

####  `this is the most interesting thing that has happened in a long time`

####  `More interesting than a force field covering an entire planet?`

####  `let me ask the guys`

####  `yes`

####  `wait`

####  `?`

####  `something happened hold on`

####  `Everything okay?`

####  `Magnus?`

####  `Magnus`

####  `Magnus what’s wrong?`

####  `Magnus`

####  `Magnus!`

####  `Magnus!!`

####  `Magnus I will call if you don’t answer me!!`

####  `THEY KNEW`

####  `What? What happened?`

####  `ABOUT THE FIELD`

####  `You were gone for like ten minutes!`

####  `What!? What about the field?`

####  `MERLES COUSINS`

####  `THEY KNEW ABOUT THE FIELD AND THEY DIDN’T TELL US`

####  `WE JUST HAD A FIGHT`

####  `A FIGHT?`

####  `VERBAL`

####  `BUT I ALMOST PUNCHED ONE OF THEM`

####  `Oh shit!`

####  `THEY KNEW YOU GUYS WERE COMING AND DIDNT TELL US!`

####  `Magnus calm down`

####  `BUT IM ANGRY`

####  `Count to ten with me`

####  `1`

####  `2`

####  `3`

####  `4`

####  `5`

####  `6`

####  `7`

####  `8`

####  `9`

####  `10`

####  `Feel better now?`

####  `yeah`

####  `Magnus, you need to tell me what they told you`

####  `So I can tell Killian`

####  `And we figure this out`

####  `ok`

####  `theyve known pretty much since it went up`

####  `because they keep in touch with the guys down there just like im keeping touch with you ok`

####  `Makes sense`

####  `Don’t know why we didn’t think about this before`

####  `and turns out they have people on their way to help us`

####  `What?!`

####  `Oh my fucking god`

####  `We’ve been on this fucking ship for two weeks to save ALL OF YOU and they didn’t think to tell us they had someone else on the way?!`

####  `THAT’S WHY IM ANGRY!`

####  `SERIOUSLY WHY DIDNT THEY TELL US? THERES LITERALLY NO REASON`

####  `…`

####  `Wait`

####  `Hold back`

####  `Does this mean`

####  `They casted the field to rescue you?`

####  `… OH SHIT`

####  `OH SHIT`

####  `I need to tell to Killian`

***

Carey came out of the bathroom waving her phone frantically. “Killian, there’s something you should-!”

“Carey!” Killian interrupted. She stood up so fast some of the papers laying on the control panel fell off, making a mess on the floor. “Oh my god, are you okay?” She said, looking terribly worried.

Right, with all the excitement of this new information Carey almost forgot she had stormed into the bathroom and locked herself for twenty minutes. “Y-yeah! Sorry I left like that.”

“You don’t need to apologize,” Killian said in a reassuring tone. “I understand if you need time for yourself, it’s been… a lot. But I can’t help to worry,” Killian towards Carey, probably for a hug, but stopped herself in the last moment. She still thought Carey was static. “Just remember you can count on me.”

Why was Killian always so nice with Carey? What had she done to deserve a friend like her? Her feelings were overwhelming, Carey had to fight the urge to run into the bathroom again, but Merle’s wisdom was still fresh in her mind. Killian was dealing with a lot of shit on her end, and she needed a friend as much as Carey.

“You can count on me too, you know that?” Carey said.

Killian smiled, “I know.”

Something warm took place inside Carey’s chest. She decided then that was a smile she wanted to see all the time.

Okay, enough gay thoughts. “I have something you need to see,” she said as she handed Killian her phone.

Killian took it and read the most recent messages. “What is this?” And then she started going up through the old messages.

Carey snatched the phone from her hands. “Actually, I’ll just tell you. The Dwarves have their own men on the way to save the guys.”

Killian’s eyebrows shot up almost comically. Her surprise didn’t last, though; she made the connection way faster than Carey. “That’s why they put up the field!”

“That’s my theory too! At first I was angry they didn’t tell us anything, but this is good, right? We can get inside now!”

Killian looked like her mind was going a million thoughts per second, her eyes going from Carey’s phone, to the field, to the papers scrawled over the control panel and the floor.

“I don’t think it’s going to be that easy.”

“Why not? We are working for the same thing, they _have_ to let us in!”

“But they didn’t.”

“I mean, yeah, but they didn’t know we were here to save the guys. We can tell them now!”

“Do you really think they didn’t know?” Killian said, walking towards the panel and picking some papers up. “Do you really think your friend’s cousins didn’t tell them about us during all this time? Unless Magnus has kept it a secret.”

Carey huffed. “No way, Magnus can’t even keep _private_ conversations private.”

“So why didn’t they let us in if they knew we were coming? And I doubt they thought we were someone else, people don’t usually drive their own ship to another planet.”

The meaning of Killian’s words dawned on Carey. “Wait. You think they are letting us out on purpose?”

“That’s my theory,” she said, digging frantically through the mess on top of the panel.

Carey leaned on the shelf, hands in front of her face as the implications of the whole situation started making sense. “But… but why? Why would they keep us out?”

“Because,” she said with an exasperated huff, not at Carey, but the mess of papers. She noticed the ones that had fallen to the floor and with a smile of triumph leaned down to pick the one she had been looking for. Holding it in front of her towards Carey, she said, “they’ve been trying to cover this up.”

Carey walked closer to Killian and read the paper, expecting something in Dwarvish or a cheap translation of it, but the contents of the paper clipping were in perfect Common. Moreover, the name of the publication was one she had seen before.

“A shipwreck. Barry told us about this, right?”

“Yes, but that’s not the important part. I want you to look at the date.”

“May the thirty-second, twenty-three fifty-nine… That was five years ago, right? I know math. What about it?”

“You know math, yes. I’m showing you this because this is the only news article I could find.”

“Wait, in all of those there’s only one in native Common? What happened to the rest?”

“There is no rest. I looked online for more news in Common about the Phandalin incidents after Madame Director handed me these, but I couldn’t find anything past this date. But these accidents have been going for at least five years. Carey, you know Faerun better than me, when was the first time you heard about this?”

“Like, _today!_ And that’s ridiculous, something this big should be known!” Then, Carey gasped. “You are right, there is a cover up!”

“And that’s not all,” Killian said in a severe tone with just a hint of excitement.

“The field,” Carey said. “Why did they lift the field _now_ and not before?”

Killian raised an eyebrow. “How do you know this is the first time they’ve lifted a field?”

“Because you can’t keep the closing of an entire planet secret, not for long at least. I bet they had to close all flights to Phandalin when they did this, so word would spread eventually. But I mean, people have been _dying_. You’d think they’d at least warn everybody not to fly carelessly outside the orbit.”

Killian nodded. “That’s right. And it’s true, this rescue mission is different from the rest: dozens of ships have gone missing in the past years, but your friends are the first to make contact from… wherever it is they fell.”

 _“Phandelver,”_ Carey whispered, and this time, Killian didn’t roll her eyes at the mention of it.

“Whatever it is, they must want to find it as soon as possible, _and_ before anyone notices.”

Carey reached for her seat and just let herself fall roughly on top of it. “Holy shit, dude. We got ourselves into some real conspiracy theory shit.”

And that was the comment that made Killian, who was getting really into it, snap out of her zone and blush. “Be serious.”

Carey laughed. “Sorry, I couldn’t help it. But admit it, this is kinda exciting!”

“There’s nothing exciting about this, we still have to find a way inside. There’s no doubt now that Brian reached the same conclusion and came here to see it with his own eyes.”

“What if we just let the people of Phandalin find them? My friends and Brian, I mean. They seem to have better resources than us.”

Killian shook her head. “I need to get Brian myself. They might let him go before I get to him.”

Carey nodded. She knew Killian wouldn’t settle for the easy answer, but honestly? That was one of the reasons she liked her. Hm. Okay, maybe she really needed a gossip session with Magnus.

“Well, there’s no finding him without getting inside, so I say we leave the bureaucracy behind and do things my way.”

There was a snort, then an accusatory look that didn’t hold any real meaning. “Please don’t tell me you are planning on infiltrating a force field,” said Killian.

“Hey, there’s more to the Carey approach than breaking and entering! Sometimes, there’s extortion.”

***

The toll office wasn’t hard to find in the orbit, but actually seeing it took them a while. The station was twice the size as their ship, which wasn’t saying much, and it obviously wasn’t made for docking. Fortunately, and pretty much the only stroke of good luck they’d had all day, there was just one open spot for them to park. Killian hated Brian a little less.

The inside, though, was ten times as big as the outside made them believe. Carey was practically gawking, awestruck by the wonders of ancient technology.

“ _Holy shit_ ,” she whispered. “I thought people didn’t do this anymore. Why did we stop doing this?”

“Too expensive,” Killian explained.

“That’s your excuse for everything.”

“I guess you have to pay for things with your own money regularly to notice these things.”

Carey pretended to be offended, but didn’t press the subject further. Killian’s wallet was still hanging to her hip by a chain.

Really, though, it was impressive. Killian had read a lot about ancient technology, she knew the creation process for pocket dimensions not only required an insane amount of energy even for small volumes, but was also quite complicated. People used to get degrees solely for them. With that sort of limitations, it was no surprise the only race that never left the craft were…

The Dwarves.

They didn’t get friendly looks on their way to the manager’s office, not that Killian had expected any different. If anything, everybody was too dumbfounded by their presence there.

By the time one of the deskmen nearby tried to ask what they were doing there, Carey was already knocking on the door to the manager’s office. The Dwarf on the other end was as happy to see them as the rest. “You must be Miss Killian,” he said with no hidden disdain after realizing he had been talking to an Orc all along.

“And Carey,” Carey added cheerfully. “We’d like to request entrance to Phandalin.”

The Dwarf actually laughed at that, an understandable answer. “No.”

“Oh, please, it won’t be long! We are just here to pick up-”

“Your friend, yes, Mr. Hallwinter. But as I told you before, his situation has already been taken care of.”

“What about my friend Magnus Burnsides? Did you find his ship yet?”

“I assure you, any measures necessary have been taken…” the Dwarf didn’t seem to catch on what Carey was saying at first. But when it hit him, he went pale. “Wait, how do you-?”

“Know about the missing ship? Well, my _friends_ Magnus Burnsides, Merle Highchurch, and Taako -you know, from TV?- told me they crashed on their way out of Phandalin two weeks ago, and I was so worried for them I asked Killian here to drive me from Neverwinter just to pick them up. It’s kind of a long way to fly just to get turned off at the door, don’t you think?”

The manager casted a quick glare towards the nearest desk, whose occupant started typing nervously. “Then you must also know our people are working on getting them back to safety, so there’s no need for you to, erm, _pick them up_.”

“Really? Because you’ve been on this for a week and I see you’ve made no progress. You sure you don’t need any help?”

Carey spoke with a confidence Killian had never seen. Her tone seemed light to anyone who wasn’t used to her speech patterns, but Killian could tell every word was being chosen to make the Dwarves as uncomfortable as possible.

“We are perfectly fine on our own,” he kept saying. “But don’t worry, after the rescue operations are done, we’ll make sure the crew, if they are really your friends-”

“Sir, she is telling the truth,” said the nervous Dwarf at the desk. “Three of six names match with the ones she said.”

“-make it safely to you.”

Carey pretended to think about it, humming to herself, looking up and putting a hand on her chin. “What if I put it like this? We have friends and family back at home who are dying to know what happened to our dear friends. They trust me to bring them home safely, but if I can’t find them myself, the _least_ I can do is keep everyone updated on their situation.”

A bead of sweat ran through the manager’s face. “You can’t do that.”

“Do what? Tell everyone Phandalin’s shipwreck incidents have gotten so out of control they had to cast a forcefield around its orbit?” She smiled, wide, showing every one of her fangs. On a side note, Carey was the taller one of the conversation, and she was using that to her advantage too.

Everyone on the building had gone quiet, even those who were probably too far to hear anything. Ten seconds passed without anyone saying a word.

“Our rescue teams have been looking for weeks, there’s no trace of their ship or the place they crashed.”

“Two ships are better than one.”

“You might get lost too.”

“Hopefully where my friends got lost so we can return together.”

“You might die!”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ve had two weeks to come to terms with my own mortality. Will you let us in or not?”

“Fine!” The manager said. “Fine! You shall pass! Whatever! Open the field for them, get them out of my office!”

In complete contrast to their welcome, Killian and Carey were escorted very politely. Getting out was easy, boarding the ship was easy, even maneuvering through the hole that opened to let them pass was easy. But holding the laughter? It was killing Killian. “I can’t believe that worked!”

“I told you! I’m awesome!”

“You should have seen the faces of everyone else when you started dropping names, and the telling everyone about the accidents.”

“It’s all about picking up the right locks.”

“God, I could kiss you.”

“HA HA COOL HEY I NEED TO PEE BE RIGHT BACK.”

***

####  `*Hacker voice* we are in`

####  `HELL YEAH`

####  `by the way barry called me! He says he might know how to find us`

####  `go meet him! hes in havendale`

####  `I’ll tell Killian`

####  `See you soon!`

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The 34th miner, you know, the one that stayed home the day of the accident. It’s Chilean humor.
> 
> I know I'm real fucking bold doing this after a long hiatus but [I made a TAZ sideblog](vampirekravitz.tumblr.com/) so like, follow me?


	13. Phandalin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Conspiracy theories? In _my_ interplanetary journey? Is more likely than you think.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to be an astronomer when I was younger! In this chapter, you can see why I chose computer science instead.

Havendale was exactly what you would expect from the capital of a Dwarven planet. Everyone looked like they had something important to do, and things would be done the proper way.

Of course, that didn’t mean there was no time for a cold beer with friends between jobs. Killian had heard about Dwarven parties. They said the wildest ones could last weeks, with never-ending drinking and friendly competition.

But she had never been to one, and most likely never would, because when an Orc walks into a Dwarven bar, everyone stops partying.

Killian really wasn’t in the mood to argue that day. Fortunately, she didn’t have to: she was with Carey.

“What are you looking at? Piss off!” Whether it was because Carey’s words intimidated them, or they were just surprised to hear a small Dragonborn talk so big, people went back to minding their own business in the end.

“Thank you,” Killian whispered.

Carey winked at her. “Any time, big girl. No one messes with my friends, except for me.”

“I sure am glad the mighty Carey Fangbattle has spared my punchable face yet another time,” Killian joked. She’d still rather be anywhere less public, but Barry was staying here.

He was easy to locate, even before Carey called up to him. “Yo, Barry!” Among buff, hairy, short dwarves, a chubby human wearing jeans stood up. He was sitting by himself at the bar, turning around at the sound of his name.

“Hey there, Carey, long time no see. I heard you were in jail.”

“Psh, just a small brush with the law, no big deal. I can’t ever go back to the Gaia Belt but that place was garbage. Anyway! Killian, this is Barry. Barry, this is Killian.”

Barry offered his hand and Killian shook it firmly. “Is nice to finally meet-“

“And now that introductions have been taken care of, let’s get to the point,” Carey said. “We really don’t have time for small talk,” then she waved towards the bartender. “One round of ale, please!”

Killian raised an eyebrow. “But we have time for a drink?”

“I need this and so do you.”

She did, Killian realized after she had a sip of her glass. God, she didn’t know how much she needed it.

“Okay,” Barry started, “I don’t have any news about the incidents besides what I told you yesterday, but I think I have a good idea where to start looking for the guys. You’ve been talking to them, right?”

“Yep, for the past two weeks,” said Carey.

“What do you know about the place they crashed on?”

Killian took the handwritten notes she made based on Carey’s friends’ calls and texts. “We know this is a mineral-rich body, golden in color, no breathable atmosphere and low gravity.”

“That adds up,” said Barry. “But you’ll need more than that if you plan on getting there yourselves. I’ve done some research on my own about the… circumstances surrounding their crash.”

“You mean the accidents,” Killian said.

Barry looked nervously around the bar, which prompted Killian and Carey to do the same. “I don’t think we should talk about it here, but my room is upstairs. We can discuss it there once we are done with our drinks.”

“Or,” Carey said, “we could go _right now,_ ” and she downed her drink in one go.

Killian was getting a sense of deja vu. “Who did you see?”

“No one, let’s go.” Carey dropped to the floor, then reappeared on top of the stairs. To her credit, she really was good at sneaking out.

Killian looked around one last time, just in case someone actually dangerous was after Carey, but she didn’t see anything or anyone out of place. She finished her own drink and they followed Carey soon after.

Up in Barry’s room there was barely enough space for the three of them, the bed was unmade, and scattered clothes and paper cluttered the floor. Still, it was a nice change of atmosphere from downstairs. Barry tried to explain all of the information he had gathered on the wall of his room, while Carey and Killian, sitting on his bed, trying to make some sense of it.

“So we already know about the incidents,” he said as he pointed to a cluster of paper clippings pinned on the wall. “In recent years, ships entering Phandalin’s orbit in seemingly perfect state have started suffering malfunctions out nowhere. Of course, people didn’t start linking them to the same cause at first, so there might be some earlier instances of it that weren’t taken into account, but we can say they have been going on for at least five years. You following?”

Killian nodded. Carey raised her hand.

“Yes, Carey?”

“So why are they covering it up?”

“I’ll get to that. Now, people have started comparing it to a sort of Bermuda Triangle, but the incidents aren’t confined to an specific point above Phandalin.”

“They wouldn’t have closed the entire planet if that weren’t the case,” Killian said.

“Exactly.” Barry pointed then to another side of his makeshift board, a timeline of events from the news articles. “I tried to map these events and get a better understanding of their pattern of movement, with the help …” he reached down and picked up a globe, “this!”

“Cute!” Carey said.

“It’s super cute! And, erm, useful. Anyway, this is going to be a little hard to explain, so if you could spin this while I’m talking…”

“Like this?” Carey said, spinning the Phandalin globe really fast.

“Slower! Just a bit- yeah that’s great, yes, okay. So, for example, these two events from sixty-two happened on the same day but on opposing sides of the planet, which seems random, right? Wrong! Say an accident were to happen above us,” Barry pointed at an spot two inches above Havendale, then left his finger hovering above the same place as Carey spinned the globe, “then in a couple hours, by the planet’s own rotation, our Triangle would have moved. Or rather, is us who moved. You can stop spinning now.”

Carey did so, and then said, “So in theory, we could wait until it was above us again and chase it, right?”

“Yes and no. You see, the point itself has its own orbit, which is why it has been so hard to track.”

Killian felt a chill.

“Damn.”

“… Wait,” Killian started, slowly, thinking her next words very carefully. “When you say orbit, you mean…”

Barry smiled a wickedly. “ _That_ is our final point. See, the weird thing about those malfunctions is that they leave no trace. Ships examined after the event show no signs of intervention, not the machinery nor the software, so really there is no reason for these accidents to even happen on the first place.” And then, he leaned closer. “ _Unless…_ ”

“ _Unless…?_ ” Then girls said.

“We are not dealing with a malfunction at all, but an external _force_. Something that can make a perfectly working body lose control of itself, like-”

“A gravitational pull,” Killian said.

Barry smiled even wider. “That’s it.”

It took Carey a little longer to get on the implications of what Killian had just said. “Wait, you mean like… a satellite?”

“Not any satellite,” Barry said, “one that’s appeared out of nowhere, can’t be seen, and they desperately want to keep secret from everyone else.”

Killian groaned. “You can’t be serious.”

“It’s Phandelver!” Carey exclaimed. “That’s why they don’t want anyone to know! They are trying to find Phandelver too!”

“That doesn’t make any sense.”

“It makes a lot of sense if you think about it,” Barry started, and of course he would side with Carey, “people used to believe it was made of gold! And even if it isn’t true, there’s records of it being mined by the Dwarves. Besides, I have reason to believe at least some of them knew about it. A month ago, me and the guys were hired by Gundren Rockseeker to help him and his brothers salvage the broken ships still floating around Phandalin. That’s what he told us, but after all I’ve seen I believe his intention was to find the moon all along.

“Carey, Magnus actually wanted to drop the mission after your call. We had already salvaged a good amount of materials from the wreckage so he didn’t think Gundren would mind, but the man was furious! Gundren insisted our job wasn’t done yet, and in the end he only agreed to let the guys go after they helped him one last time.”

Carey gasped. “And that’s when they had the accident… But how did he know where the moon would be?”

Barry hummed in thought. ”I don’t think even he knew the exact location, but I bet he had an approximate idea. After a week of search and salvaging, the chance of finding it somewhere else would be higher. I’m sure there would’ve been a crash sooner or later.”

Carey didn’t seem happy about any of this, it was her friends who crashed, after all. Killian would be mad too, and she was pretty mad already.

“How did they find it exactly?” She asked to shift the subject from the guys. “If the moon can’t be seen from here, or in the area you say you were looking, how is it exerting its force? Is it invisible?”

“That… is something I can’t answer,” Barry said. “But I know how _you_ can find it.”

Both Killian and Carey leaned towards the wall, where Barry was pointing now. The final section of the collage, a series of calculations and diagrams predicting the current location of Phandelver based on all the reports, including an estimation of the moon’s measurements.

“This is… so thorough,” Killian said. “You’ve done an amazing job here, Barry. This will save us a lot of time.”

Barry’s mouth curved into a humble smile. “Well, it’s the least I could do, you know? I was supposed to be on that ship too, and now I’m the only one safe while the rest are trapped there.”

Killian couldn’t help but empathize with him. Poor guy, she knew what it felt when you couldn’t help a friend in need.

Carey snorted. “Don’t feel bad for him, he fell asleep the day of the launch.”

Barry blushed. “Excuse you, I was hungover.”

“That’s worse!”

“It doesn’t matter,” said Killian, and she got up. “We have a mysterious celestial body to find.”

Carey smiled, “I love your attitude. Let’s get going!”

“Wait, right now?” Barry said, caught off guard. “I mean, yeah, let’s go! I just have to pack my things, take my collage off the wall, and the room is kind of a mess…”

“It’s fine, Barry, you can stay,” said Carey.

“Oh, thank God.”

They went downstairs again. The wall of noise, body heat, smells, and bad vibes couldn’t even bother Killian. She was going out there to look for something that might or might not be Phandelver, but she was going to find it, and she was going to get Brian once and for all.

“Alright, I’m going to fill up the tank and have the ship checked for anything. Barry, I need water and food for eight people. Carey-”

“-Fangbattle?” Came a voice from behind them.

Carey froze in place next to Killian. Oh, for fucks sake, _now?_ Killian reached for her pocket knife, ready to save’s Carey’s ass from whomever it was she was hiding this time.

But when she turned around, there wasn’t anyone there.

“I’m down here.”

Killian looked down to find a Halfling girl waving at them. She didn’t look threatening, or angry, or righteously following a wanted criminal.

“You’re Jeremy’s sister, right?” The girl said. “It’s me, Noelle Redcheek! We met at the wedding of my cousin and your brother, remember?”

Carey, who was kind-of-but-not-really facing her, covering her face with one hand, said in the less casual tone, “Uuuh… I think you’ve got me confused with someone else, miss.” Wow, good thing she knew how to hide from people because she was really bad at lying.

The Halfling, Noelle, didn’t seem to buy it either, but she was still very polite about it. “Oh, I’m so sorry! Is just that you look so much like him! You’re just as short as him.”

“What?!” Carey turned around and pointed at Noelle with sparks coming from both of her horns. “I’ll have you know I’m the tallest one of the two!”

There was a good three seconds of silence before Carey slapped her hands over her mouth.

Noelle laughed really hard, and if Killian was honest it was hard not to join her, she had a contagious laugh. “Sorry, sorry,” she said, “I just wanted to say hi, it’s so rare to see people from the family this far from home.”

Carey grimaced at the use of the word ‘family’. “Yeah, you know, the ways of life. I’d love to catch up and all that, but we are kiiiiinda in the middle of something right now…”

Noelle looked disappointed, but she was still polite about it. “It’s fine, I’m working too. It was nice to see you!”

While all of this happened, Barry eyed Killian awkwardly, _Well, that was something,_ then waved Noelle goodbye and walked away.

“See ya,” said Killian. She waited for Carey before following Barry outside.

“I mean, don’t get me wrong, it was nice to see you too, and…” she cleared her throat. “If you could maybe… not mention this to Jeremy, that’d be chill.”

Noelle smiled sympathetically, “Sure.”

Carey walked away quickly. Killian expected her to melt into the shadows or something like that, but she just left like a normal person.

Once outside, and before anyone could mention anything about what just had happened, Carey said, “So! What do I need to do?”

***

####  `We are on our way`

####  `Hang in there, guys!`

***

####  `>Travel Log 8.42.2364-2: We are leaving Phandalin. Commence mission to sweep expected location of the mysterious celestial body.`

***

Finding a moon was harder than Carey thought. How do you even hide an entire moon? Those things were big! And there was evidence of its presence all around them. Wreckage from other ships, from small pieces to entire structures, they even saw a whole ship wandering about. And those were just the leftovers, the rest was probably buried in Phandelver.

“Hey Killian, can I be honest with you for a second?

“Hm?”

“I’m kind of terrified.”

“You and I, Carey.”

“What if we don’t make it out of this alive? What’s really preventing us from ending like all of these ships?”

Killian didn’t answer right away, not that Carey blamed her. Eyes upfront, she was looking at the universe stretching in front of them. Days ago, Killian had mentioned how she found peace in those things, the emptiness of space, the monotony, the silence. In their situation, all of those things meant something different.

“We will,” Killian finally said. “We are prepared, we know what to expect, but most important, people are counting on us, and like hell we are going to let them down.”

Carey smiled. Killian was so reliable. Carey felt a lot better (and a lot gayer, if she was being honest) knowing she was scared and still could face up her fears with calm. Her ability to keep her cool on every situation was admirable.

Well, almost every situation. Now that they were so close to their target, Carey figured it was time to talk about it before things got out of hand.

“Hey, Killian, you care about Brian, right?”

Killian looked at Carey with her eyes wide open, a little blush taking over her face. For a moment there Carey thought Killian was going to yell at her and, okay, maybe she shouldn’t have been so blunt about it. But after the initial surprise, Killian went back to her usual, composed self, if anything just a little tired of Carey’s bullshit if her sigh was something to go by. “How long have you known?”

Carey shrugged. “Eh, pretty much since you confirmed it was personal? I mean, I used to think a vendetta, but you get angry at him like he’s disappointed you, and when you are not angry you're just worried sick. Plus, you’re literally risking your life to find him; you don’t do that for someone who isn’t important to you.”

“You're really good at this, huh?”

“Nah, I just have dumb friends. And am a dumb friend myself.”

“At least you are not the _dumbest_ friend,” Killian half-joked. Good, joking was a good sign.

“No pressure, but if you want to talk about it, I’m literally trapped inside this ship with you.”

“Thank you,” Killian said. She smiled at Carey, which only made her heart skip a little. “Same goes to you, by the way, about what happened today at the tavern.”

Carey sucked in air. “Right. That.” Hoo boy, was that a punch in the gut. “Maybe not now, that’s a lot of emotional baggage to unpack.”

Killian shrugged. “I get it. Is it related to the mission?”

“Nah.”

“Then I have the perfect thing to distract you.” She pointed at the window on Carey’s side. Far enough to not being an immediate threat to their ship, but still close enough to be seen, a medium sized piece of scrap was slowly but surely moving towards them.

Not only that: now that it had come to their attention, Carey could see lights she thought to be stars moving in the same direction.

“Hell yes!”

Killian turned the ship towards the source of this pull. “New entry. Gravitational pull is observed at forty north lat, comma, a hundred and twenty eight west, comma, at eight miles towards north east of Phandalin, stop. Will proceed to follow the source. End of entry.”

“It’s so cool when you do that.”

“I know, right?”

The closer they got to the source of the pull, the more pieces of scrap they found, coming at increasingly faster speeds. Carey couldn’t know how hard it was to avoid them, but she knew Killian was doing a good job at it.

The moon was still nowhere to be seen, though. No matter how far they went, in front of them was only emptiness.

“Are you sure this is the right direction?”

Killian gestured towards the screen on the control panel, which had suddenly lit up. On it announced the presence of gravity. They were being pulled too!

“Can this thing detect collisions if they are invisible?”

“It would if there was something physical in front of us.”

“What do you mean?”

“Look for yourself.”

Carey squinted again, still no signs of the moon but somewhere in front of them, another bunch of scrap was… coming towards them?

“Wait, why is it turning back?”

“It’s not turning back, it’s being pulled towards the source.”

“But that must be less than half a mile from us! How big is this moon?”

“If there was a moon big enough to have this gravity somewhere in here, we would’ve landed already.”

“But we are being pulled by something!”

_Clank!_

“Fuck!” Killian wasn’t fast enough and a piece of metal crashed against the ship. It hadn’t been strong enough to push any of them out of their seats, but Carey still fastened her seat belt. And just in time, because Killian had to make a hard move to avoid another piece that almost collided against them.

“Okay,” Killian said, “so this is where things get complicated.”

“What are we gonna do?”

Killian thought hard on it. It didn’t help that she still had to maneuver in every direction to avoid collisions. Her sight was set on the point where all trajectories converged. Over there, all the scrap traveled at the same speed of their ship, maybe even faster. If they got any closer it would be even more difficult to avoid collisions.

Suddenly, Killian gasped. “Carey, over there! Pick an object and follow it to the center.”

Carey did as Killian told her, or at least tried, but that speed combined with the distance and amount of objects converging to the center made it hard to follow one single piece’s trajectory. So Carey focused all of her attention into one piece, the biggest one she could locate, and followed it until it reached the center, where…

It disappeared out of sight.

“Did it just-?!”

“That’s where we need to go.”

Carey held onto her seat so hard her claws pierced the leather. “I guess this is happening.”

“Wait, before we go…”

“Yeah?”

“Can you hold my hand for a moment?”

Oh. Carey was not expecting that, but she didn’t think twice. Her left hand reached for Killian’s right and held it tight. “It’s been a pleasure traveling with you.”

Killian squeezed her hand back. “The pleasure is mine.” Then she let go, of course, because you can’t drive through a hazard zone one-handed.

The ship was set in motion and soon there was a hit, a small chunk of metal on the back of the ship. Killian kept driving on as if nothing had happened, but the next one came no less than ten seconds later, smashing one of the walls so hard the things on the shelf fall to the floor.

Then there was more, too many to count, but small enough to be of no concern to the ship’s integrity. At least, Carey hoped.

“You are almost there!” Cheered Carey, because that was the only thing she could do. “Only a hundred feet more! We are almost there, it’s-,” a fraction of a second too late, she saw the engine coming from her window. “Watch out!”

_Crash!_ The huge piece collided against them, pulling the ship from it’s trajectory as everything inside went to black.

“Killian! Are you-?”

“I’m fine! Lights on!”

The ship didn’t answer. There was another impact, smaller, and Killian cursed again.

“System reboot! Come on!”

Carey didn’t have night vision but she was accustomed to moving in the dark, so she could at least tell when Killian’s silhouette started moving and identify the click from her seat belt being unfastened. “What are you doing?!”

“I need to reboot manually. Tell me if something big comes so I can grab onto something.”

“No, go back to your seat! We are already being pulled by whatever is at the center!”

“We still need the ship to take back home! I need to make sure we land in one piece.”

The lights turned on again, which was great, but the system was still loading.

“Come on, come on!”

“Killian! Look behind us!”

With the lights on, Carey could see it reflected on another piece of scrap coming their way, and it was big.

“Killian, we need to go!”

“I’m trying!” Killian grunted again, but again the ship didn’t answer to her, and the sound of small pieces crashing against it didn’t help either. “How far is it?”

“I don’t know! Forty seconds, tops!”

“That’s not enough, we need to build enough speed to fight the gravity pull.”

“Why don’t we use the pull? It’s the only thing making us move!”

“Because we are being pulled in _the same direction_ as that thing!”

Carey looked at the scrap again, now half-way to their position. “Twenty seconds!”

The panel started beeping, finally! It was fully charged.

“You did it!”

Killian sat down and fastened her seatbelt. She was safe, but still looked frantic. “I don’t think we’ll make it in time, unless…”

Ten seconds. “Unless what?”

Seven. Killian entered a command on the console and the words _PREPARING JUMP, CONFIRM Y/N_ shone on the screen.

Five. “Hold onto your seat!”

Four. “Why does it say-?”

Killian pressed the Y key and Carey didn’t have the time to react before her body was pushed against her seat.

Three.

The lights went off again.

Two.

One.

… Nothing happened. Carey looked behind them again, but there was no sign of the ship that had almost crushed them.

“Okay,” Killian said; Carey could hear her heart beating at miles per hour in her voice, “okay, listen, I’ve got good news and bad news.”

“What was that?!” Carey exclaimed. “You said this ship couldn’t perform quantum jumps!”

“It can’t. And it didn’t. It’s another type of jump, Shorter. Still consumes an insane amount of gas. We needed to get out of the way as soon as possible.”

Carey closed her eyes, but her heart, too, was beating like crazy. “Good call, you saved us.”

“That’s the good news.”

Carey _really_ didn’t want to ask. “And the bad news?”

Killian breathed in a out, then said, “We don’t have anymore fuel, it’s only the gravity pull now.”

Without light, they couldn’t see much outside. All Carey could do was hear the small bits of machinery still crashing against them, feel the ship accelerating.

She reached for Killian’s hand again, who squeezed firmly back.

And they fell.


	14. Phandelver

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girls wake up in a strange place.

As always, Killian was the first to wake up.

Slowly, she became aware of herself. First with eyes closed, feeling her neck and shoulders hurt where the seat belt was holding her, and her right hand, now empty, stung where Carey had dug in her claws while holding it.

_Carey._

Killian opened her eyes and turned to the right seat, from where Carey’s left arm was hanging limp. She unfastened her seat belt and stood up, then almost tripped, not because her legs failed, but the floor beneath her was too steep. By the feel of it, the ship must have had crashed face-front into the ground. The window on the front was completely obscured. All the light inside the ship came from from the back window, and it was barely enough to move around.

“Carey, can you hear me?”

There was no answer, but at least Killian could see her chest rise and fall. She leaned closer, holding onto Carey’s seat for support. “Carey, please, wake up…” She brushed against her hand.

After a moment that felt too long, Carey opened her eyes. “… Killian?”

A sharp shock made Killian let go of the seat, and she fell against the control panel. “Ouch!”

“Killian! Fuck, not again…!” Carey tried to get out of her seat, but she was stopped by the belt.

“It’s okay!” Killian assured her, she was too relieved to even feel pain. “I’m glad to see you are good as ever. Mind the steepness before you get up, we fell pretty ugly.”

“Shit, at least the ship is working?”

Killian turned around as best as she could given her position and tried to boot up the system, to no avail. She sighed, “I’m afraid not,

“Wait, then…” Carey took a hand to her throat and gasped. “How are we breathing?!”

Killian laughed. “They air pressure system is separate from the rest of the ship, _precisely_ for situations like this.”

Carey let out a sigh of relief. “Good to know.”

“For now, our priority is getting this ship out from where it fell.”

Carey unfastened her seatbelt and climbed on top (behind?) of her chair. “There!” She said, pointing at the sliver of light coming from the back window. “Can we open that?”

“Not without the pressurized suits,” she tried to get up again, but the suits were at the back, now up from where she stood, and beyond the chairs there wasn’t anything for her to climb.

“I got this,” said Carey, and without trouble jumped to the other end of the ship, where she held onto the shelves and cabinets until she found what she was looking for. “Killian, catch!”

The big suit fell on Killian’s arms with less force than expected. “Thanks, you are amazing!”

Small sparks bursted from Carey’s broken horn, “Oh, it’s not as hard as it looks. I think gravity here is lower than normal.”

“Yeah, I noticed.”

“Is there anything else I should grab? Before the space suit limits my movement and all that.”

“I think we're fine for now.”

“Then it’s time to suit up!”

Once they had their suits on, Carey tried to climb on the side from which the light came. “Okay, I’m about to open this, are you ready?”

Killian gave her a thumbs up, and Carey pulled, and pulled, and pulled harder, but the door didn’t budge. “Killian, this is stuck. I think we’ll have to break the window.”

“I’d really rather not, this is our only source of air.”

“Then we are going to need something to jam it open, because raw force alone is not working.”

“Let me see,” Killian gestured Carey to move out of the way, and with no little effort climbed to her place next to the door. It wasn’t broken, so in they should be able to open it just fine. Maybe there was something exerting pressure outside.

“Well?” asked Carey from her position down in the ship.

“I think I got it.” Killian started pulling with all her strength while pushing the door to the outside of the ship. It wasn’t an easy maneuver, but she kept at it until she heard the telltale click of the seal unlocking, and then pulled it open.

As she suspected, rubble started falling inside the ship. “Carey, watch out!”

Carey dived out of the way easily, thank god, until rocks stopped falling.

“Let’s get out of here.”

Killian climbed outside. She stood atop of the ship’s left wing, which was now bent. That would be tough to fix. But she didn’t dwell too much on it, couldn’t have even if she wanted. The sight that awaited for her outside was demanding of all of her attention.

The ground around her was irregular, surrounded by rocks and a big mountain wall at every side. It was tall, but not enough to cover the sky, which was a yellowish hue. Somehow, sunlight had found this place when no one else could.

And yet, none of that had a bigger impact than seeing everything, the ground, the rocks, the walls, the mountains, was golden.

Killian stood there in silence, only broken by Carey, who, after climbing next to her gasped in amazement and said:

“If Phandelver isn’t real,” she said, “this place looks an awful lot like it.”

***

####  `We are here!`

####  `We are actually here!`

####  `I don’t know where we are, but everything is golden and weird and amazing!`

####  `So maybe it’s real And we really found Phandelver?`

####  `Holy shit`

####  `Maybe you saw us crash?`

####  `Magnus?`

***

By some sort of miracle, and for the first time ever since Carey got that shitty burner phone, reception in space _didn’t suck._

After their first attempts at moving their ship from the crashing site, it soon became clear that Carey and Killian’s strength alone-

(Which in Killian’s case was a lot of strength. Carey was still thinking about the way she opened the door only with her arms, dear _god_.)

—wouldn’t be enough, so Killian asked Carey to contact Magnus, Taako, and Merle, while she contacted her boss back in Neverwinter to tell her about their findings. And Carey’s phone cooperated, for once!

Now, if only Magnus would pick up his phone!

“Still no answer?” Yelled Killian from the ship. In the time she had spent trying to contact Magnus, Killian had already finished her call, and she was focusing on fixing those bent wings as much as she could.

“Nothing!” Carey yelled back. “And he hasn’t answered my texts either. But it’s getting late according to my phone, What time is it? Maybe they're sleeping?”

Although her phone said it was a little past midnight, the sky was still a clear yellow color. Magnus had mentioned the sun didn’t set on Phandelver.

Carey dialed up again, but still got no answer.

Did the boys even know they were there? Carey had hoped their crashing could be seen from their position, that maybe they would be on the way the moment the ship had entered this strange dimension in which Phandelver was hiding.

However, no matter where she looked, the boys didn’t come, and no matter how much she called, they didn’t answer.

“Maybe you should leave it for now.”

Killian was now with her, still holding the toolkit she had been using. Her hair was sticking to her forehead, but she couldn’t fix it under the helmet, and that made Carey think she should do it for her. Which made no sense, of course, because she would also encounter the helmet problem.

She shouldn’t be thinking about that now. “I can’t, Killian, do you know what happened the last time I called and they didn’t pick up?” She extended her arms, “This!”

“I doubt they crashed into a second, hidden moon while we were out.”

“Well, maybe it’s not a moon, but it must be something bad! Ever since we left Neverwinter I’ve had to deal with a crappy signal and an inconsistent schedule, but every single time Magnus would text me back! Now he’s not even picking up his phone, and I don’t want to know what can happen _on top_ of crashing on a moon.”

When Killian spoke, she did so in a calm voice, much more calmer than Carey could manage at the moment. “Even if you are right, they already survived a moon crashing. I’m sure they can take whatever else comes.”

That… was a good point.

“You are good at this optimism thing.”

“It’s not optimism,” said Killian, “just a logical conclusion. I’m sure they’ll call before you notice.”

And to make Killian look even better, Carey’s phone started ringing.

“Seriously, I don’t know how you do this, but thank you.” Carey picked up the phone before the urge to hug Killian overcame her. Listening to Magnus would help ground her.

But it wasn’t Magnus’ voice on the other end. _“… up pick up pick up pick up pick up come on pick up pick up pick- I’m calling already! Why don’t we change places then, asshole. I bet I can do a better job at whatever it is you do!”_

“Taako?”

_“Oh, Carey, thank god you picked up!”_

“Why haven’t you answered my calls? Or my texts? Where’s Magnus?”

_“He can’t talk right now.”_

“Did something happen to him?! Fuck, I knew it! I knew you were deep in some other bullshit problem, I swear to God, if anything happened to him-”

 _“He’s fine! Magnus is right here, he’s in one piece, and he didn’t even get hurt, I don’t know why he’s complaining about._ _And yes, I’m fine, by the way, thanks for asking.”_

 _“Me too!”_ said Merle in the background.

_“Nobody asked you, old coot!”_

Carey sighed in relief, but her heart rate would take a little longer to settle down again. “Taako, what’s going on?”

_“I’ll tell you right now, but first you need to know everyone is fine, alright?”_

That didn’t do much to reassure Carey, but she tried to. “Alright, hit me.”

_“We were attacked”_

Nope, no, Carey could NOT stay calm. “You were WHAT?! HOW?!”

Killian was also looking increasingly worried, and she was only getting Carey’s half of the conversation. How must she have looked?

_“Look, I don’t know! We were at the crash site minding our own business when suddenly this big, ugly-”_

_“Monster!”_ Came a fainter voice from the other side, one Carey recognized as Magnus. She didn’t like his tone, but it was good he was talking, right?

“Wait, did he just say _a monster_?”

Killian’s eyes went wide.

_“Yep, no other way to put it. We tried to fight it but it was too strong, and then it took Merle’s cousins with it and ran away.”_

“He took-?! Taako, you said everyone was fine!”

_“I meant everyone important. But it’s gone now, we are fine.”_

“You are telling me a _fucking monster_ just _attacked you_ and took _half of your crew_ with it, and you expect me to be calm?! _”_

“Carey,” said Killian, “put him on speaker.”

Carey did so. Now with the sound amplified she could better listen to Magnus’ altered voice in the background, along with Merle’s attempts to calm him down.

“Listen up,” Killian said, “if that monster is what I think it is, your crewmates are safe. _For now_.”

“Wait, you knew about this?” Carey said. “I never heard about a monster living in the lost moon!”

Killian turned to Carey and whispered, “I’ll tell you later,” then she spoke to the phone again. “You need to stay where you are, don’t go after them or engage the beast _under any circumstances_. If you aren’t dead right now it’s just because it wasn’t interested in killing you. Don’t give it a reason.”

_“Jeez. You are a real motivational speaker.”_

“I’m serious. Wait for us at your current location, we’ll go find you once we learn how to orient ourselves in this place.”

_“… Wait, you guys are already here?!”_

_“What?!”_

_“Praised be Pan!”_

_“Hachi machi, you actually did it!”_

“That’s right!” Carey said. “We worked really hard to find this place, so if any of you gets killed, I’ll kill you! You hear me? I didn’t fly across half the fucking system to lose you now!”

There was some talking in the background, then the sound of the phone changing hands, and Magnus spoke up. _“Hi, Carey, Killian.”_

“What’s up, big guy,” Carey tried to hide the immense relief hearing Magnus back to his normal self made her feel.

Killian seemed surprised to be addressed by name. “Hello, you must be Magnus?”

_“The one and only. I’m sorry for feeling glad you're here but I am SO GLAD! I knew you would find us, lizard girl.”_

“It’s Dragonborn,” Carey corrected him, but she was so happy too she couldn’t feel mad about it.

“Magnus,” Killian said, “do you know how we can find you?”

On the other side, Magnus hummed. _“There aren’t many landmarks in this place, but we kept track of the ship parts we saw when we went exploring, maybe you could use that. Where are you?”_

Killian and Carey looked at each other, then around themselves.

“That’s a good question,” Carey said.

“We fell into a chasm, does that help?”

_“Chasm, chasm, that sounds familiar. Taako, give me the notes! Aha! Can you see any green blades around you?”_

“Blades?”

_“Yeah, from an engine.”_

“Carey…” started Killian.

“I’m already on it,” Carey climbed on the nearest rock formation and searched in every direction, until, “Over there! Yes! I see the green blades!”

“Carey found them.”

_“Great! Then you just have to follow our route.”_

***

If you had told the Killian from a month ago she would one day walk on Phandelver- well, she would’ve ignored you. Even though she liked reading about conspiracy theories and mysteries of the Universe, not once had she ever believed they were real. But she did wonder about alternate realities where any of them would be true, how it would feel climbing the branches of a ten miles tall extinct tree, falling through the edge of Earth, or even walking on the surface of a moon made entirely of gold.

The real Phandelver wasn’t made of gold, of course, but its existence was still something Killian couldn’t wrap her head around. Maybe in another reality it would feel different, even magical, but in the real world it was just like walking on another moon, which was… well, it felt normal.

“Magnus didn’t lie,” Carey said, “this place is kinda boring.”

“If it makes you feel better,” Killian said, “According to Barry’s calculations, the approximate surface area of Phandelver is less than two hundred square miles. For comparison, the area of Phandalin’s biggest moon, Echo, is two million square miles, and Phandalin, which is also a Dwarf planet, is around ten million square miles. As far as celestial bodies go, this one is on the tiny side.”

“Two hundred miles is a lot to walk by foot, though.”

“I’m sure you’ve walked for longer.”

“ _I_ have, but what about you? Aren’t you tired? We’ve had to climb a lot and we are only halfway there.”

Killian shrugged. “Well, I’m not a climbing expert, but the lower gravity does help.”

“I help too!”

There was a short climb right in front of them, and just to prove her point, Carey jumped to the top and offered her hand to Killian, who took it gladly.

“Yes, you’ve helped me a lot. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Carey’s smile showed all of her sharp teeth. “You’d be bored out of your mind.”

Killian had meant that thank not just for their trip to Phandelver, but the entirety of her journey, and Carey’s answer applied to that too. Again, an unbearable amount of time had passed without she ever noticing because Carey was with her, and there wasn’t a good way to express just how thankful she was for it, so she hoped this would be a good start.

At the top of the climb, there was a series of tunnels digging into the surface of the moon. They didn’t look natural, but it made sense: Phandelver had been a mining site before disappearing. This right here was proof that there had been contact between the Dwarves and Phandelver before the vanishment. “This doesn’t look boring to me. Did the guys ever explore this place?”

“Hm, I’m not sure. I think this is where he and the guys had a fight.”

“A fight? That’s awful. Do you know if they are still on bad terms?”

“Yeah, they are all assholes so it’s not rare for them to get on each other’s nerves. I think Taako and Merle were making fun of Magnus’ fear of spiders.”

Magnus was arachnophobic? Great, that would only complicate things.

On the other hand, spiders did prefer dark corners. She looked inside one of the tunnels, just in case.

“Killian, look! A purple wing, that’s our next mark, come on.”

Oh, a wing. That could be helpful. While Carey marked the wing off the list, she examined it. It was in good condition, but the size was too small for their ship. Maybe she could salvage the support and change it for the bent parts of their ship’s own wing.

“What was that?”

Killian looked up, “Hm?”

Carey tilted her head to the side. “Didn’t you say something just now?”

“Not at all.”

“Huh. Must’ve been my imagination.”

Killian’s guard went up immediately.

She turned to her back, looking around every one of the caves surrounding them. Nothing out of the ordinary, but what was ordinary here?

Better be safe, then. “We should go.”

“Okay! Our next stop is the Rock That Looks Like A Dog, capitalized. Should be about forty minutes away from here.”

“Maybe we should pick up the pace,” Killian said as she stood up and started walking.

Carey followed her. “Uh, sure. You won’t get tired?”

“No,” Kilian said, even if she wasn’t sure of the answer. “By the way, are you afraid of spiders too?”

Carey shrugged. “I’m not a fan, but who is? Why are you asking?”

“Nothing.”

Fortunately for them, the way to the Rock That Looks Like A Dog was as uneventful as the rest of the trip so far. Unfortunately for Killian, she did get exhausted, but she didn’t tell Carey that.

“Okay,” she concealed the urge to gasp for air when she talked. “What’s the next one?”

“Just a second, let me check…”

“How many are left?”

“Like, five more? Hey, is everything okay? You’ve been acting kinda weird ever since we left those tunnels.”

Fuck. Maybe she hadn’t concealed her fears as well as she thought. “It’s nothing.”

“This doesn’t seem like nothing, Killian,” Carey folded her arms and looked at her with a disappointed glare. “Do you need to pee? I told you to go before we left our ship.”

“What? No, it’s not about that.”

“Then what’s going on? Are you hiding something from me?”

Killian sighed. Yeah, no use in hiding this. “I’m sorry, I have a bad feeling, but I was worried you might be scared if I told you.”

Carey’s expression shifted from disappointment to worry. “What’s going on?”

“It’s about the monster your friends saw.”

“You know what it is, right? Does this have to do with…?” She left that last part incomplete, but Killian could fill the rest on her own.

“I’m afraid so. You see, back at the Bureau we had a nickname for Brian. We used to call him The Black-”

“ _Spider_.”

“Exactly… wait, how did you know that?”

Carey didn’t answer, she didn’t move either, and her wide eyes were fixed on a point above her.

Killian turned around and saw it at the top of a rock formation. A black spider of enormous proportions.

Well, there it was.

This would be fine, she thought, this would be perfectly fine. She knew how to deal with this, and if she kept her mind clear she could get both of them to safety. “Okay, Carey,” she whispered, “I need you to listen carefully and do as I say…”

Carey grabbed her hand and ran.

“Wait! Carey, what are you doing?!”

“I’m saving our lives!”

Killian tried to stop, but a look behind her shoulder showed her the spider already on the move. It was too late now, it had set to catch them and wouldn’t stop until it did. Running was the only choice now.

They ran as fast and as far as their their legs let them, the low gravity helped but the terrain was hard to navigate by foot. By the time she looked behind again, the spider had halved the distance between them.

“We need to find a place to hide!” Killian said. “Something small, it won’t be able to follow us inside.”

Carey found a hiding place right away, “Over there!” She pointed at the space between two rocks. It looked wide enough for the both of them to sneak into, but still too small for the big spider. They ran towards it, Killian summoning all the stamina she didn’t know she still had, until they finally made it.

Carey sneaked in easily, her small, flexible body fitting inside with practiced ease. But Killian had more trouble. The space would be enough for her under normal circumstances, but she was wearing a pressurized suit, and that gave her a lot more volume.

Then, Killian felt a pull on her leg, and before she noticed she was lying on the ground outside, the black spider in front of her.

“Killian!”

“Stay inside!” She yelled. Killian looked at the beast in front of her. It was looking her back, all of its eight eyes focused on her face, covered in sweat and lose hairs under the helmet. Fuck, would it recognize her like that?

“HEY, YOU!”

There was a flash, and the spider screeched. Killian braced herself, the spider had turned towards the source of the yell. Three silhouettes appeared on top of a rock formation, one big, one medium, and one small.

“Leave my best friend’s cr- I mean, new friend alone, you monster!”

The three started firing their laser guns at the spider, which screeched again, and finally opted from fleeing the scene. It climbed back where it came from.

Carey was next to Killian as soon as the spider was gone, hugging her with every ounce of strength in her body. “Oh my God, oh my God, Killian, I thought that monster was going to eat you!”

It wouldn’t, Killian thought, but she didn’t get to say it, because by the time Carey let go of her, Killian’s rescuers had made their way towards them.

“Hello!” said the Dwarf.

“Hail and well met,” said the Elf.

“It’s so nice to finally see-!” started the human, but he was interrupted by Carey’s tackle-hug. “Oof! I missed you too, lizard girl.”

“It’s Dragonborn,” Carey said, happy as Killian had never seen her before.

She climbed off him and ran to hug the old Dwarf man, the only person in the entire group shorter than her. It seemed to Killian they whispered a couple things to each other, but she wasn’t close enough to hear, and she figured out it wasn’t her business anyway.

When she was done with him she approached the Elf, who raised his hands in front of him and said, “Uh, I pass.” He was still hugged.

“Guys, this is Killian. I wouldn’t be here without her,” Killian nodded at the mention of her name. They were looking at her like… well, she couldn’t put a name to it, so she only hoped it was a good sort of look. ”Killian, these are Magnus, Merle, and Taako.”

“Nice to meet you, and thank you for saving me back there,” and then she added in a mock-scolding tone, “even after I explicitly told you to stay at your place.”

“You did?” Said Taako, “I don’t remember anything like that.”

“We are not very good at following instructions,” said Merle.

“It doesn’t matter, now we are finally together!” said Carey. “We can go save the rest of your crew and kick that big spider’s ass!”

Magnus, who had shown amazing courage facing his fear of spiders just minutes ago, paled at the mention of it. “I mean, I’m sure we can find a way to save the guys without going against it _again_.”

“No,” Killian corrected him. “I don’t think it’s going to leave its cave anytime soon, not after the last encounter. If we are the only people left in this place and it doesn’t want us, then the people it took from you must be a very high priority.”

“How important are those guys again?” Asked Taako.

Merle put his hands on his hips. “Very important!”

Magnus sighed. “Guess we are doing this.”

“We already survived a moon crashing,” Carey said, eying Killian in a clear reference to her words earlier, “what’s a big spider gonna do against us?”

“I can think of a few things,” said Magnus. “Where do we go now, then?”

Killian looked to the side the spider had gone, past the Rock That Looked Like A Dog and back from where she and Carey had came from.

“We are going to the mines.”


	15. The Spider Room

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [Something waits inside the mines.](https://youtu.be/7WDFUcjWARU)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God I'm so glad I don't have to format those chats anymore

Just when Carey thought these space adventures had everything, she found herself following the footprints of a giant spider into a tunnel system from a mining site lost a thousand years ago. "The Lost Mine of Phandelver," huh? That sounded kinda cool. Obviously not as cool as "the Lost _Moon_ ," but it had a nice ring to it.

“It’s obvious this place hasn’t been cleaned in years,” Magnus said, “it’s full of cobwebs!”

Merle face-palmed, Taako groaned, and Carey could hear Killian whisper “Oh my fucking god, he’s _worse_.”

“What?” Magnus said, “This is how I _cob_!”

“ANYWAY.” Taako cut through a curtain of cobwebs in front of him with his gun and tried to step into the other side touching as little of it as possible. “Ugh, big spiders make a big mess… Woah, what’s that?”

“ _What is what?_ ” Magnus asked.

“Stay here,” Killian said as she went ahead and surveilled the scene. Carey couldn’t see much of it this back in the formation, but the web became thicker ahead, covering the black and golden walls almost entirely in white. Spooky.

“Okay,” Killian said in a low voice, barely enough for everyone to hear her, “I’m going to need you guys to remain calm-”

“Not a good start,” Magnus remarked.

Killian gruntled. “See those lumps at the top? Those are your crew mates. We need to approach them carefully before-”

“Magnus rushes in!” And so he did, pushing Taako and Killian out of his way and entering the spiderweb like he hadn’t been asking his way out of it less than an hour ago.

“What did I just say?!” Killian yelled at Magnus, but he was already ten feet ahead.

“Told you so,” said Merle, and he waddled off after Magnus. “Hang in there, cousins!”

“And I am good out here, so if you’ll excuse me—.”

Killian grabbed Taako by back of his collar and dragged him inside.

Now that the path was clear, Carey was finally able to see the full picture. The chamber was still spooky, but it had this… strange beauty to it. And it wasn’t only on the floor and walls, above them was also an elaborate structure made entirely out of webs. If a giant spider wanted a place to settle, this looked like a good option.

Actually…

Carey looked at the lumps again. She didn’t know much about spiders, but she didn’t think putting their food at ground level for anyone to take away was a normal thing to do. Then she noticed, with every step they guys took, the web shook, even she could feel it. She stood still and counted. One, for Magnus; two, for Merle; three, for Taako; four, for Killian. Five-

That was all the thinking she could do before her gut took over and made her legs kick her off into the air. The spider’s fangs bit on the spot she had been just a second ago, and the low gravity made it all seem in slow motion. But no, the spider kept moving as she fell, and by the time she screamed:

“Guys!”

The spider was already jumping at Killian. Fortunately, Carey’s warning had been enough and she avoided its bite with a bit more room than Carey had, running to a side, away from the boys and the hostages.

“Hey!” She yelled at it. Yelled! Was she trying to get its attention? After almost dying out there?!

It didn’t work. The spider only paid attention to her for a second before turning to the rest again.

Carey yelled, “We need to find a place to hide! Somewhere it won’t follow us!”

“But my cousins!” cried Merle. He was trying to break free one of the lumps on the wall. Magnus and Taako flanked him, his guns pointed at the spider, ready to fire.

“No!” Killian yelled, “Bryan!”

The spider stopped, and this time, it actually looked at Killian.

Wait.

“ _What?!_ ”

“ _This_ is Brian?!” said Magnus.

“No! I mean, yes. _I mean_ ,” Killian stuttered. “This is his pet spider. Bryan, with a ‘y’.”

“Who names their pet after themselves?” Said Merle.

“Who keeps _a giant spider_ as a pet?!” Said Magnus.

The spider hissed at Magnus like it understood what he said.

Killian whistled and got its attention again. “Here, boy! It’s me, Killian, remember me?”

The spider turned its body around and slowly approached Killian. Carey, who was next to her, didn’t lower her guard for a second, but she was still amazed. The spider was answering to Killian! It was like a cat approaching to smell a stranger.

Killian extended her hand, but she was too fast. Carey saw the spider flinch and immediately pushed Killian to the side. Seconds later, the spider jumped forward, and the boys were back to shooting again.

“No!” Killian exclaimed.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s a pet, that thing doesn’t want to play, Killian!”

The light from the laser gun reflected on the webs, painting the cavern of different colors as the beast screeched with every hit. However, aside from making it angrier, it wasn’t making any damage.

“This fucking thing, why won’t it die!” said Taako, and Carey could feel Killian flinching next to her. “We need another approach!”

Merle had ceased his attempts at freeing one of his cousins and he took his own gun, but it was as useless as the rest, if not worse, because his aim was complete bullshit. One of the rays ended up setting fire to the webs atop them, showing the ceiling beyond, and parts of it breaking down after the ray hit it.

Magnus gasped. “Merle, that’s brilliant!”.

“What?”

“We can cause a cave-in!”

“Oh! Yes! That’s exactly what I was going for.”

“Everybody, backs to the wall!” He shouted. "Killian, do you know how to use one of these?!” Magnus picked his laser gun and threw it in Killian’s direction.

Killian grabbed it with one hand and fired three rapid shots at the ceiling. “Yes!”

“Oh. Okay, that went even better than I expected.”

Three more shots, and the ceiling began to collapse on top of the spider. It tried to escape, but it was too big. With nowhere to go, the spider was finally buried. But it still moved, baring its fangs and screeching.

The boys raised their guns and…

“Don’t kill it!” Killian ran and positioned herself between them guns and the spider.

“Why not?” Said Taako. “It tried to kill us first, I think that’s fair.”

“It was just trying to protect its hostages!”

“So it could eat them!” Said Merle.

“It doesn’t eat people!” Killian snapped. “It’s an exotic pet, Brian would never let it eat your cousins. Who knows where they have been?”

Merle crossed his arms, “I guess.”

Killian sighed, “I know it looks scary, but that doesn’t mean it’s evil. It's an animal, it doesn't know better."

Carey looked at the spider again. It had stopped moving its legs but still hissed and bared its teeth at them. It was really ugly, and yet… Carey felt pity.

In the end, and to the surprise of everyone in the room, the first one to break was Magnus. “This spider was just being loyal!” Magnus cried. “It’s not its fault the owner is a kidnapper.”

After the initial shock, Killian smiled at him. “Wow, Magnus, to think you were the one scared the most of-”

“No, I _am_ super grossed out by it, but it’s not its fault it was born as a spider.”

“Fair enough. Let’s get your friends out of here.”

“I’m on it,” said Carey. She jumped to the wall, claws ready to get the hostages free once and for… oh, right, gloves. “Can anyone lend me a knife?”

A minute later, the two lumps fell to the soft floor, free once and for all from their captivity. Merle ran to the two bodies and shook the first of his cousins. “Tharden! Wake up!” Once the Dwarf began giving signs of awakening, Merle turned to the other, “Nundro! Come on, man!”

“Ugh, where am I?” Said Tharden, still too dizzy to get up. Nundro was no better.

When Carey jumped down, she was approached by Merle. “Wait, where is Gundren?”

Carey looked at the wall again, but there wasn’t anyone else. “Those two were the only ones. Sorry.”

Merle nodded, visibly worried, but said nothing else. Right now, helping his two cousins back to health was the priority.

Something under Carey’s feet shifted, and she looked in the direction that had perturbed the web, afraid to see the spider had digged itself out of the rubble. But what she saw was Killian walking towards one of the web covered walls. Now that she looked at it, Carey could see the webs on that side waved more than the rest, the way curtains move to the wind entering a house. Killian tore the web open and sure enough an entrance was revealed… and a hundred feet beyond, there was light. Killian was already walking into it, so Carey had to run to catch up to her.

“Killian, Wait!”

Killian turned around and looked at Carey almost apologetically. “Uh, I was just-”

“You weren’t planning on going alone, were you?”

Killian sighed. “Brian is on the other side. You guys stay here while I talk to him.”

“Nuh-uh! You already helped me find my friends, I’m not going to let you go on your own.”

Killian looked to the other side again, and… well, Carey had learned a lot about Killian in the past weeks together, maybe not enough to know what she was really going through that very moment, but it was obvious this all was very difficult for her.

“Unless,” Carey said, “this is something between the two of you. In that case I totally get if you don’t want me around-”

“No,” Killian cut her. “I think I… I could really use your help over there. Who knows what I could do to Brian when I see him after all this time, I might kill him!”

“Oh! Who do we need to kill?” Magnus was already rushing towards them. “You need help with that?”

Killian actually laughed at that. Carey mouthed “thank you” at Magnus, and he winked back.

“I think I’m gonna be fine on that respect. You don’t need to come.”

“If Carey goes then we go!” Magnus exclaimed, giving Carey another confident look. “Right, guys?”

Taako walked up to them, “I’m not staying here with the spider.”

“And,” said Merle, helping both of his cousins to catch up to the rest of them, “even if you asked us to stay, remember, we're really bad at following instructions.”

Killian snorted. “Right, you already told me that.” She looked at the other end of the tunnel, and Carey was happy to see she didn’t look as conflicted as before. “Let’s go.”

They entered the tunnel together, and while everyone was still tired after the fight against the spider, at least the worst part was over. Carey was glad both their missions were coming to a close.

Until she heard someone murmur at the end of the formation, “Why are we following _her_?”. It wasn’t louder than a whisper, but Carey could hear the intonation of that last word. It was… hatred.

She turned around and saw the two Rockseeker brothers looking to the front of the formation, but they averted their gazes when Carey looked at them. That hadn’t been directed at her, though. They had been looking at Killian.

Carey stopped where she was and let everyone else pass her, until the two brothers caught up to her. “You guys can go back to the spider room if you want,” she told them.

They mumbled something none of them could make sense of, and Carey picked up the pace to walk alongside Killian again.

***

Killian’s plan for when she saw Brian had been in the making for a month, to the point each step of it had been carefully placed in the best order possible. She had a point to make, after all. In order:

  * Punch him for leaving without telling her.
  * Punch him for leaving without telling Brad.
  * Tell him Brad still loved him (as per his request).
  * Punch him for leaving a mess at the Bureau of Balance.
  * Punch him for making her cross half the solar system to find him
  * Then supplex him before he escaped and take him back.



“Wow,” said Carey when she told her, “even when kicking ass, you're methodical.”

“I have to be when it comes to him. Can’t give him the time to think, but I can’t hurt him too much either, so I need to make sure every punch gets the point across.”

“That’s cool!” Magnus chimed in. ”I just punch people until they stop punching back.”

“And before they even start,” said Taako, touching the arm that was still sore from their fight last week.

“You started it by making fun of me! It was an emotional punch!”

“I still can’t feel my arm and you are angry because I hurt your feelings?!”

“Fellas, fellas,” Merle positioned himself between the two of them and tried to placate them with his tiny arms. “We just reunited with Carey and my cousins, let’s leave these old conflicts behind. Right, guys?”

Merle turned towards the Rockseeker brothers, but they only stared awkwardly at him, trying to not make it obvious they were avoiding looking at Killian.

“See?” Merle said. “Keep going, we are almost there. See how the blue light makes everyone look the same? I think this is a good metaphor for how we are all one and the same and differences shouldn’t matter-”

“Wait,” Killian grabbed Merle by the shoulder and gestured at everyone else to stop. “Why is the light ahead blue?”

Everyone went silent.

“Because of the… sky?” said Magnus.

Merle and Taako hummed.

“Sunlight is white,” Killian said with more patience than the guys deserved, “but even so, the sky in this planet is yellow, and the surface is golden. This is not reflected light.”

“Then, what is it?” Carey said.

Without a word, Killian walked towards the end of the tunnel, and what she saw… left her breathless.

At the other side of the tunnel was a chamber even bigger than the spider room. The opposite wall sat at twice the distance from the tunnel they had just crossed, and the ceiling stretched out so far above she couldn’t even see the end; even if there was an aperture up there, sunlight wouldn’t have been able to fill this room and good part of the tunnel like it did now.

But the chamber was glowing thanks to the tens- no, hundreds of blue lights perched to the walls.

True to their reputation, the boys and Carey soon followed her to the entrance of the chamber, completely disregarding her orders, and their reactions were pretty much the same as hers, if a bit noisier.

“Hachi machi!”

Magnus whistled. “Those aren’t normal lamps, are they?”

“Maybe our new leader should go check them up?” Said Nundro, and it didn’t escape Killian the _way_ he said it.

Carey was already sparkling from her broken horn. “Do you wanna pick a fight? Because if this is too much of a hassle for you I could take you back-“

“Oh, dear,” someone said.

Killian went still.

“Oh, I vould _not_ do zat if I vere you. It is a little bit unstable in here.”

His voice came from above, but locating him among the lights was hard. When she finally saw him, Killian’s blood, already heating up with all the pent up anger, disappointment, and concern she had felt for the past month… froze inside of her.

Brian was standing at the entrance of another tunnel, forty feet over the ground. In one hand he held another of those lights- no, a reactor. And sitting in the floor next to him, tied up, was a Dwarf.

“Gundren!” Called his brothers, but Killian, with the help of Magnus and Merle, held them back before they jumped into the chamber.

“No! Don’t come in here!” Gundren said. “This traitor is planning on blowing up the entire place!”

Brian gasped. “Zat is not true! And traitor is such an ugly vord!”

“Brian!” Killian called for him. She thought she knew what to say before but everything was gone, her mind was too busy trying to assess the risk they ran in that place, and _why was Brian keeping Gundren tied up?_

Brian didn’t hesitate when he talked. “Killian, darling, I knew it vas you ven Gundren here told me someone else vas on ze vay. I just vish you hadn’t come so soon! It is about to get a little messy in here.”

“What is going on, Brian? What have you done?!”

“Nozing yet, but I’m about to take ze moon viz me.”


	16. Brian

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There he is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WRITING ACCENTS IS HARD.
> 
> By the way!
> 
> [The Adventure Bang 2019](https://theadventurebang.tumblr.com)
> 
> is already open for sign ups! We had a blast last year working on this, and if you like fics and the adventure zone you should totally check it out!

You stop being surprised after the third or fourth amazing event on the same day. Crashing on the lost moon of Phandelver, finding a giant spider, defeating said giant spider in an abandoned mine… well, Carey thought, you couldn’t top that.

And _then_.

“The _moon?”_ Magnus exclaimed. “As in _the_ _fucking moon_ we are standing in right now?!”

Brian laughed with his melodic voice. On a side note, Carey had been picturing him as this big, badass jock villain the whole time, but the Drow standing in front of them was so fancy he made Taako look like Merle.

(Taako frowned in disgust, though he wasn’t sure why.)

“It is very simple, actually,” he started. “I just need to take ze moon out of its hiding place, then push it somevhere more to my convenience.”

“And you are going to do that by blowing the place up?!” Asked Tharden, or maybe it was Nundro, Carey didn’t care at this point. They had lost the privilege of recognition, two racist remarks ago. “Let our brother go, you monster!”

“I’m afraid I still need Gundren here. He holds ze key to my plan, after all.”

“And that plan is…?” Magnus asked hopefully.

Brian laughed again. “Oh, I’m not going to tell you just like zat! You should really get going, sweethearts, it's going to get nasty.”

Nundro (or Tharden) tried to free himself from Magnus’ hold. “The only thing that will get nasty is your face after we are done with-!”

“Hold on,” Killian said.

It was the first time she spoke after the revelation, Carey realized. Shit! Was she angry? Carey braced herself in case she had to stop stop her from doing something stupid.

However, when Killian talked, her voice was calm but firm. “Aren’t you at least going to tell us why?” And as she said this, she extended a hand behind her, towards Carey, with her thumb and pinky extended.

Carey took her phone out of her pocket and handed it to her, hoping that’s what she meant. Killian started pressing buttons.

“I already told you, I vant to take ze moon-“

“I’m not talking about that,” Killian cut him. “Why did you come here, Brian? I’ve been looking around half the solar system for you, I had to follow breadcrumbs _for weeks_ until something lead to a place I wasn’t even sure existed a day ago. Why did you even _leave_?”

Brian kept smiling, unbothered by Killian’s accusatory tone. For a moment there Carey thought he was going to dismiss Killian and ask all of them to leave again, but he answered her. “Vhy? I zought you already knew, Killian. Zis _is_ Phandelver, ze lost moon of Phandalin. Maybe you are still in denial, you never believed in zese zings, after all.”

“I _know_ where we are. It took some convincing-”

“Lot’s of convincing,” Carey added.

“-but not even I can deny the fact that everything is golden and we had to crash into some kind of wormhole to get here.”

Killian handed Carey the phone. It read: 33344466322777444266.

_FINDBRIAN._

Carey nodded, even if Killian couldn't see her, and she walked back where they came from while Killian distracted Brian.

One second Carey was there, and the next, she was one with the darkness.

“I alvays knew Phandelver vas real!” Brian said. “For years I’ve tried to tell people about my findings. Zere are accounts dating from centuries ago of its existence, vay before ze age of interplanetary travel! Did you know zere are not one, not tens, but hundreds of poems vritten in old Dwarvish about it?”

“I helped you translate those poems!” Exclaimed Gundren in anger. This far from the entrance Carey could only guess how everyone felt by the tone of their voices, but his was very clear. ”Those were transcribed by _my_ ancestors! You wouldn’t be here without _me_!”

The chamber had many entrances. Carey hoped they were all interconnected, but on their way from the spider room there hadn’t been any crossroads. At least none they could see. But maybe…

“And I appreciate it, my friend! I’ll make sure everyone knows your efforts vere crucial in ze finding of ze millennium.”

“I don’t want credit in what you are doing!”

Carey climbed the walls and held onto the ceiling, until she found what she was looking for: and opening! Above this hall was another tunnel. Carey climbed inside.

Brian ignored Gundren’s last comment. “I looked for ze Bureau’s help so many times! But zey never listened, and vhen I saw evidence of Phandelver’s return, vell, I couldn’t risk it! Vith or vithout ze Director’s approval.”

“So that’s why you stole a ship and thousands in resources?” That was Killian’s voice. She was still so calm, how did she do it?

The tunnel Carey was in now had two exits. One of them was the great chamber with the blue lights, and the other stretched in the direction of the spider room. Maybe all of the tunnels on this side did? If so, then maybe she could find another way in there.

“I did vhat I had to do, and everyone vill agree vhen I return viz Phandelver behind me.”

“If you wanted everyone to know, why did you erase your research from the system? Why you didn’t want to be found?”

“Zey vouldn’t let me go if zey knew.”

Carey prepared a jump to cross the hole in the floor from which she had come. Nothing hard, specially under this gravity-

“Then the fact that you chose the day _before the wedding_ to run away has nothing to do with it?”

Carey tripped.

Magnus’ voice was so loud it echoed through all the tunnels in the mine. “You guys are getting _MARRIED_?!”

“Oh,” Killian said, “no, I mean-”

Brian laughed. “Oh, zere has been a misunderstanding!

“ _His_ wedding. His, not ours.”

Hanging by the edge of the other side of the hole, Carey slowly waited for her soul to come back inside her body.

“Whew,” Merle said, “I mean, an Elf and an Orc, right? That would be weird.”

“My fiancée is an Orc,” said Brian.

“Please excuse him,” Taako said, “Dwarves can be so racist.”

“Wh- I’m the least racist Dwarf in this room!”

“That bar is really fucking low, my dude.”

Carey pulled herself up again and walked away. Heart-stopping shocks or not, she still had a mission to do, and there was so much Killian could stall for them.

“So Brad is still your fiancée, even after you left him at the altar?”

Brian hesitated, Carey was sure of it this time because he didn’t sound as composed as he had been before when he finally spoke again. “I didn’t leave him. Ve’ll get married after I’m done here.” He was close, Carey could hear him more clear now.

“Then why didn’t you tell him? I get why you didn’t tell Madame Director, or even _me_ , but why not him? He doesn’t work for the Bureau.”

“Brad trusts me, and so should you. You vere supposed to be my maid of honor!”

“Exactly! I am your fucking maid of honor, _you_ asked me to stop from doing something stupid before the wedding because you _knew_ your overdramatic ass would come up with a reason to ruin everything!”

A fainter, rough voice, probably one of the Dwarves, said “Should we be listening to this?” But he was shut down with a S _hh!_ from the boys.

Carey followed Brian’s voice to a dead end. Fuck! Why would anyone dig a tunnel there? Stupid ancient miners!

“ _I am not being overdramatic!_ ” Brian said and, if you asked Carey, he was sounding very dramatic, losing his composure after everything Killian said. Trust her to punch a guy harder with her words than her fists. “And zis is not some petty drama! I had a lead, I vas _right!_ And I haven’t cancelled ze vedding yet, so _you_ have nozing to do here!” His voice cut through the air with anger, leaving everyone in silence.

Carey looked up again: just behind her she could peek a corner of the ceiling that was lit by a dim blue light. She ran.

“Then why,” Killian asked, still calm, more than Brian, “did you leave your ring behind for Brad to find it?”

Brian gasped.

Carey jumped. In front of her, the Drow’s silhouette stood a mere fifteen feet ahead, next to Gundren, who was still tied up on the floor. Brian wasn’t holding him anymore.

“No… no, zat is not possible… ”

“Brad called me last week, Brian, he was _devastated_.”

“He vas not supposed to find it.”

“It was in your room!”

Gundren turned around. He saw Carey and nodded. Carey was about to walk towards him when Brian moved.

She stood still… but nothing happened. Brian was talking to himself, “No, no, zis can’t be happening, it’s been only six weeks…”

“Brian, will you tell me what’s really going on?

“ _I zought I still had time…”_

“Brian!”

Brian fell silent.

“You didn’t leave your ring behind, did you?”

Brian’s perfect stance lowered. His shoulders fell, and he just didn’t say anything.

Carey raised three fingers.

”Who did it?”

Two.

“Brian!” Brian said- Wait, why would he say his own name?

… Shit!

“Now!” Carey said, just at the same time as she heard her friends scream.

Brian turned around, but he was pushed by Gundren, who now stood on his own feet, and Carey was on top of him before he had the time to get up again. That’s when she saw the giant spider at the other entrance, hissing and trying to bite her friends.

“That’s it, man, you are done playing the villain.”

“Ze villain?” Brian laughed with his mellifluous voice. “I’m sorry, you make quite ze vonderful hero, but I don’t have time for zis little game.”

He raised his knees and pushed Carey up. She was taken by surprise, and when Brian rolled to the side she lost her balance and fell to the ground. Gundren tried to catch Brian, but he didn’t try to run inside the tunnel.

Brian rolled to his side until he was at the edge of the wall, then he yelled “Bryan!” with a ‘y’, and fell from the edge.

Brian re-emerged in front of them, riding on the giant spider, and together they climbed to the top.

“Zis is my last varning , dears!” Brian said.

Carey jumped up and climbed the wall after him. “Oh, no, don’t think you can get away!”

“ _We_ should get away!” Killian yelled from the floor.

Carey looked at her, then at Brian and the spider. It’s climbing speed was way higher than hers…

“Carey!”

“I’ll see you on the other side!”

Killian nodded, and she and everyone else left. Carey climbed down into the tunnel, helped Gundren to his feet again, and she led the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapter but, as you can see, there's more plot in these 1.8k words than the rest of the fic. Expect the next one soon!


	17. History

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Dwarves light some truth on Brian's true intentions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heads up: there's a lot of fantasy racism in this one. I'm... not entirely happy about this chapter, but I don't know what else to do. tbh I wrote it during a politically charged period last year and I think it shows. If you have any comments, good or bad, don't be afraid to tell me here or over at vampirekravitz @ tumblr. I would really appreciate some insight from someone with a clear mind

Killian counted her heartbeats, it helped her stay focused and not just barge inside again. It had been over fifteen minutes since they exited the cave and there was no sign of Carey yet. _Come on,_ she thought, _you’re the one who’s good at this. Come on…_

Until she could see Carey, followed by Gundren, running towards the exit. Killian lost the willpower she had left and ran towards Carey, picking her up in a hug.

“Don’t scare me like that!" She said. "Are you okay?”

“Psh, yeah.”

“I told you she'll be fine," Magnus said. "Now move over, I want a hug too."

“Brother!” The Rockseekers also ran to encounter their brother. One of them- Nundro, Killian recalled- said, “We need to go! The power inside that mine is strong enough to blow up half this place.”

“Hold on,” Gundren raised his hand both to call to attention and ask for time to regain his breath.

“I received a message on our way here.”

Carey let go of Magnus, “Oh, fuck, right, it’s really important. Look.”

The eight of them crowded around Gundren’s phone, an old, sturdy looking device even bulkier than Carey’s. A pixelated font showed Brian’s message:

You can tell me what to do, or we can all have fun when I find out for myself. You have thirty minutes.

“Shit,” said Tharden, “he’s really going to do it.”

“Oh my fucking god, what? What is he going to do?” Taako asked. “It’s been like, two whole chapters of this talking in code and secrets and shit and we still have no fucking clue what this whole moon business is about!”

“Shit, you are right," Magnus said. "I was too caught up with the wedding gossip I forgot this is also a conspiracy story.”

"It was good gossip," Merle added.

Killian glared at them.

Merle cleared his throat. “Taako is right, guys. We are all trapped here already, why don't you tell us what's going on?”

The three brothers looked at each other, until finally Tharden gave in. He sighed, then looked at his brothers and shrugged. “What do you know about the war?”

“Which war?

The brothers' spared a glance towards Killian.

Fortunately, before any of them could say something else, Carey and her friends shifted towards Tharden, arms closed. "Now," Magnus said, "I think it'd be best for you if you thought twice about what you want to say."

Killian put a hand on Magnus' shoulder. "Let him speak, I think I know where this is going."

Tharden cleared his throat. “I'm just mentioning it because it ties to Phandelver's disappearance. You've heard of it, right?"

"The thing about the Orcs trying to take the moon?" Merle scoffed. "That's just a myth!"

“No,” Killian said, “that part is true."

"See?" Merle said. "Wait, what?"

"All of our moons come from somewhere else, that's pretty much the reason the old emperors went on so many conquering crusades.”

Carey gasped. "Shit, I forgot about that!"

"Hold on," Magnus said. "So what you mean to tell us here is that this whole ‘picking a moon and _carrying_ it somewhere’ thing else isn’t new?!"

"Freshly imported organic moons from all over the galaxy." Taako said.

"Not imported," Nundro said, "but stolen! That's what the Orcs were after during the war, they wanted to take our smallest and most valuable satellite, Phandelver!"

"We got that already," Carey said. "But the Orcs didn't take the moon. The story ends with Phandelver's disappearance, what happened there? How did they vanish the moon here?"

"This wasn't their doing," Gundren finally chimed in, "but ours."

Gundren's severe voice pulled everyone's attention. His arms were still closed, and he spoke of it as if he himself had been present when it happened. “Our ancestors wanted to protect it," he started, "but firepower wasn’t working. The Orc army had power enough to carry a small celestial body across the solar system, and could counter any attack from our forces. After barely holding up against them for weeks, our strategists determined that any direct approach would result in failure. Instead of attacking the Orcs, they had to defend Phandelver."

"And what they came up with," Carey said, just as Killian had come to the same realization, "was a pocket dimension."

Magnus held up his hands. “Wait, pocket dimensions are hard to make _today_! Do you want us to believe they did it _back then_?"

“How else do you think we we carried all our heavy machinery out of planet? It might be hard for you folk, but we Dwarves have been working with them for millennia. Never on such a big scale, but the theory behind it was sound."

"The amount of energy needed for that would be ludicrous!"

"They were _desperate_."

“I mean,” Taako shrugged, “it _did_ work in the end.”

“But not like they expected,” Gundren gruntled. “They accounted for every possible variable, size, shape, composition. The resulting dimension, as you can all see, was enough to hide the entirety of this place in a hundred feet pocket.

“But a celestial body has something machinery doesn’t, that is, an orbit. The speed it built around Phandalin was too much when its size and weight shifted, and Phandelver was launched it out of orbit, into space. We know this now, but for centuries, our people believed the energy had been too strong, that Phandelver had been destroyed.

"Until it came back," Killian said, "and you started feeling its effect on the orbit again."

"Yes, and I knew we had to get it out of this pocket before it left again.”

The boys each struck a heroic pose.

“And that’s where we come in!” Magnus said.

“No, I didn’t even think of that.”

Their poses deflated.

“But it is where we came in contact with Brian,” Gundren said. “I saw a post online asking for help translating old Dwarvish poems to common, all of them related to Phandelver. This was just as the incidents increased, and I knew it was no coincidence. When I contacted him, he told me about his theory on the return of the moon. He’s smart, figured out almost everything on his own, the pocket dimension, down to the forgotten variable of speed. Save for a few holes in his logic, which he couldn’t have filled without a deeper understanding of Dwarf history, it was practically done.”

It was no surprise Brian and Gundren had been working together this whole time, knowing Brian, and knowing how smart he was. Brian would want to reach to someone who believed.

“We agreed on helping each other reach our goal. He was to calculate the exact location of the moon and I’d get us a ship, and if our efforts were fruitful we would return with evidence to request the resources needed to bring it back…"

Gundren clenched his fists, and his face started turning red.

“But then, that bastard betrayed me! He locked me out of our research repository, and when I was finally able to log back in, everything was gone! He erased it all, I was left with what little I could remember! And I just knew he did it to go search for Phandelver without me! So I had to act fast to catch up to him, we set up an expedition to sweep the possible orbit of Phandelver and-”

“And that’s when we came in!” Magnus said.

“And then you almost left us too!"

Magnus shrugged. "Details."

"And after all that, the crashing and waking up here, my suspicions were confirmed when Brian sent that monster to kidnap us. That bastard wanted me to tell him how to execute the rest of the plan, as if I was going to tell him! But that was his mistake, because while he thought I wasn't paying attention, I overheard a conversation between him and his 'employer'.”

Killian frowned. “Everything he’s done has been against the better judgement of the Bureau of Balance."

"A bureau? I don't know how much they pay, but I don't think it's enough to pay for a moon."

"You think he is doing this for _money_? Look, Brian has done a lot of dumb questionable shit, but he wouldn't risk his job and marriage just for money. Besides, what kind of person would ask for a moon...?"

Something inside her mind lit up. No. It couldn’t be _him_.

Gundren was practically glaring at her now. "I don't know, Orc, you tell me."

She knew. Fucking hell, she knew. “He was talking to emperor Bradson.”

The boys and Carey gasped.

“All this time," Gundren said, "that bastard was conspiring to steal the moon from us… for your people! He was working for _your kind_!”

“Wait,” Magnus said, “wait, wait, wait. NOW we are holding the fuck on. Bradson? As in Brad Bradson? From the Bradsons? That ancient lineage of world conquerors?”

“Oh my fucking god," Taako said, "wasn't Brian marrying an Orc named Brad?"

Carey gasped loudly. "Are you telling me-!”

“Brian is _not_ marrying the emperor,” Killian interrupted her.

Everyone sighed in relief.

“Brad is just his son.”

Aaaand everyone flipped their shit again. Carey just kept yelling “WHAT”, Magnus tried to calm her down, Merle was laughing, and Taako was frantically trying to type on his phone (which was hard with the suit on), saying, “Lup is about _lose her entire fucking mind_.”

“Guys!” Killian exclaimed. “I know it’s shocking, I’m shocked too, but now is not the time to freak out. Gundren, you need to ask Brian to meet with us, I need to talk to him. You guys go back to the ship and wait there in case things go-”

“Excuse me?” Gundren interrupted her. “I’m not taking orders from you, let alone allow you to conspire with him.”

God, and on top of everything, this. "I’m on your side, you asshole!”

“He is right!” Said Tharden.

“How do we know you aren’t working for _your emperor_ too?!” Said Nundro.

“Just because I’m an Orc doesn’t mean I know every Orc in the fucking universe!”

Magnus coughed. “You do know his son, though.”

Killian glared at him.

“That’s enough!” Merle put himself between Killian and his cousins. “Gundren, you will arrange a meeting with Brian.”

Killian sighed. “Thank you, Merle-”

“And we are all going.”

“What? No! If there’s a chance he wants to talk, I _must_ do it alone. What if he tries to run away again?”

“And if he doesn’t want to talk? Are you going to face him alone? He has a giant spider, for fuck’s sake! You both will talk to him, _peacefully_ , and if things go bad then we can jump in and help you.”

“But-” Gundren started.

“No butts!” Merle said, and his stance was final.

Gundren pulled his phone again, reluctantly, and started typing.

***

Brian agreed to meet with Gundren under the condition that he would let everyone leave before popping the dimension bubble. The agreement was “come alone,” but they were all going, because following instructions was for nerds, and like hell was Carey leaving Killian alone for this one.

There was also, well, that whole thing about not being surprised anymore? Carey decided to leave it. Every time she thought she had reached that point, something even bigger happened. She decided to just focus on the present. Focus on the present.

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you knew a prince.”

Killian winced. “Brad is not a prince.”

“Sorry, but what part of ‘just the son of an emperor’ is not a prince?”

“You’re thinking of royalty, we don’t have that in Orcus. Our leaders are chosen by the people.”

Carey hummed. ”But the Bradsons have been ruling for centuries, right? Everyone knows it.”

“That’s because people keep voting for them. Brad is not interested in ruling. He’s just…” she shrugged. “ Brad. I don’t know, I’ve never thought of him as a prince. We went to school together.”

“Okay, I get you, but I think if I had gone to school with the son of an emperor I would never shut up about it.”

“You would if you lived there.”

There were a lot of things Killian didn’t talk about, and one of them was her home. Carey herself was no stranger to that feeling of disconnection from one’s own world, the least she could do was offer Killian her sympathy.

“Politicians suck.”

“Damn right.”

“Are we talking shit about politics?” Magnus chimed in. “Because boy I have a story for you. You see, this scar I have-”

“We are here!” Announced Gundren.

They were standing at the base of a rocky hill on the other side of the mines. Brian was waiting for them at the top.

They made an arrangement: Carey, Magnus, Merle and Taako would wait at the base while everyone else climbed. Tharden and Nundro would wait halfway there, and only Gundren and Killian would meet Brian. If anything bad happened, Gundren would fire three shots from his laser gun, and the rest of the party would run to their aid.

“Be careful,” Carey said. “I know he’s your friend, but he also has a giant spider.”

“Yeah,” Merle said half-joking, half-serious, “we already rescued your asses once, it’s getting old already!”

“You guys just be ready to fight, or flight, if worse comes to worst.”

The four of them saluted, like a group of good soldiers. “Yes, ma’am

“… And seriously, stay _right here_.”

None of them said anything that could incriminate them, and Killian didn’t wait for it either. They looked as she and the Rockseekers climbed to the top, until their silhouettes could no longer be seen.

Carey sat down. She was surrounded immediately.

“Soooooooo…” Magnus started.

“Oh my god,” Carey tried to cover her face with her claws, but the helmet got in the way. “Can’t you guys be more subtle? This is the last time I tell you about my crushes.”

“I don’t like her,” Taako said, “she is kinda bossy.”

“You think everyone is bossy,” said Magnus.

“ _And_ you have a type,” said Merle.

“Oh yeah,” Carey perked up, “how’s it going with Mr. What’s-His-Face the bounty hunter?”

“I have no idea what you are talking about. Anyway, I didn’t finish. You should date her, see if you can take her through the bad way so she’s less of a stick in the mud.”

Carey snorted. “She’s not that bad once you get to know her.”

Magnus leaned closer, “Uhuuuuuuuh?”

“Shut up!” She pushed him. “We are still in the middle of a life or death situation!”

“But I love love!”

“If you love love so much then call your love!”

“I already did twice today!” Magnus declared proudly. “And I might do it a third right now! Actually, be right back.”

While Magnus left to call Julia, Carey looked at the top of the mountain again. It had been a while already.

“And now we wait, I guess.”

***

Forty minutes is what it took to get to the top, and Killian knew then why Brian chose this exact place to hide: the view was astounding. This high, one could see the point in the horizon where the yellow sky distorted due to the boundaries of the pocket dimension. It was some good dramatic shit.

Not as dramatic as Brian, though. When he saw Gundren didn’t come alone, he sighed. “Gundren, Gundren, Gundren, you nasty little man.”

“Don’t call me little, you rat.”

“Leave him, Brian, this was my idea. And you still need him to get out of here. I just want to talk with you one last time.”

Brian raised an eyebrow at Gundren. “Ve had an agreement.”

“We’ll take care of that after you talk to her.”

“Zen could you leave us alone, please?”

Gundren didn’t seem happy to return after climbing for so long, but he left them nonetheless, just far enough so they could talk in private.

The spider was nowhere to be seen. “Where is Bryan?”

“I sent him back to my ship, zis might be dangerous, I don’t vant anyzing happening to him.”

“What about you? Something might happen right now, I’m still mad at you.”

Brian laughed. “Killian, are you _zreatening_ me?”

Killian grabbed Brian by the front of his suit and lifted him up. The small yelp that escaped him almost made her laugh. Almost. “Let’s say, the only thing stopping me from punching you in the face right now is the pressurized helmet covering it.”

“Ah, noted!”

Killian dropped him off, and Brian fell with a not-so-graceful thump to the ground, but he recovered quickly.

“But zat means you don’t vant me dead, or do you?”

“Even if I did, killing you now won’t solve all the shit you started.”

“Vell, you see, bringing me back now von’t solve anyzing eizer. I appreciate your concern, darling, but you von’t stop me unless you kill me now.”

Brian talked with a lot of confidence, but the moment Killian moved her arms he practically jumped out of his skin. She just crossed them. “What is _this_ , Brian? What have you gotten into?”

“I already told you.”

“No, you didn’t.” No use being subtle anymore. “I know about Bradson.”

Brian’s eyes opened wide. “ _How_ -?” He cleared his throat. “I mean, vhat are you talking about, Killian dear?”

“Gundren overheard you talking to him, and I just put two and two together.”

Brian hesitated, opening and closing his mouth a couple times to say something neither of them would believe… but in the end, he nodded yes. “No use in keeping secrets now.”

“Is he the reason you didn’t tell Brad?”

Brian scoffed. “Zat is a huge understatement,” he tried to laugh at that, but it came out half hearted. “Zis, Killian,” and he pointed at their surroundings, the horizon, the mines, the floor they were standing in, “me coming here, finding Phandelver, taking it viz me, all I’m doing… I’m doing it for Brad.”

He tried to comb a hand through his hair, but the helmet was in the way, so he just sighed.

“It all started ze night before our vedding…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On a happier note, here's a real scene that happened before Brian ran away
> 
> Brian: Madam Director! You are not going to believe zis proof I found of Phandelver's existance!  
> Lucretia: I'm sorry, Brian, I can't keep accepting tabloids as proof.  
> Brian: None of zat! Zis is an auzentic Dwarvish poem from a zounsand years ago  
> Lucretia: Oh! That does sound interesting-  
> Brian: *Hands her a note with a poem titled 'Ode to the Golden Potato'*  
> Lucretia: Go back to work.


	18. The Vow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What are you willing to do for love?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are back!  
> Ara did the banner for this one, of course.

For a man who was getting married in less than twelve hours, Brian was doing just fine.

“I'M GOING TO DIE.”

" _No, you won't."_

"ZIS IS ZE SINGLE VORST ZING ZAT COULD HAPPEN TO ME."

" _Brian, I promise, it's not a big deal."_

 _"_ You don't get it, Killian!"

" _I don’t get it? I'm literally planning this wedding with you, you moron!"_

_(“I think it’s cute.”)_

_"And Brad thinks it's cute, so get over it already."_

“Cute? Zey vere supposed to be elegant, not cute! Oh, monzs of planning, and for vat? For our napkins to be lavender instead of lilac?"

Killian groaned. " _God, it's hard dealing with you over the phone, I can’t smack some sense into you like this. You'll have to do it on your own. What was your strong hand again?"_

_("W-why don't you let me talk to him?")_

_"Fine. But if you start with your corny shit, I'll leave."_

Some people on the plane were looking at him with a mixture of amused and annoyed looks, but Brian was way past the point of caring.

"I knew I shouldn’t have left ze veek before our vedding. Vhat else might have gone vrong in my absence?”

_“Don't say that! Killian is doing an amazing job, really! Besides, you couldn't have possibly seen Bryan's accident coming!"_

Poor Bryan, it was hard enough to find someone willing to petsit a spider, and then he goes and melts his _stainless steel_ cage with his own poison. Fortunately nothing else happened to the spider, but the panic that ensued after... Brian really owed a big one to Madame Director.

"He misses me vhen I'm gone for too long… Oh, I feel so bad for leaving him already."

_"He's in good hands, though I'm still sad your boss couldn’t make it.”_

"Ze Director is a busy voman. She sends her regards, by ze vay.”

 _“I'll remember to save some cake for her after the reception,_ " he said, followed by the sound of pen on paper as he took note of it on his planner. _"Oh! I have a little window tomorrow morning, I can wake up earlier and fix the napkins before the guests arrive.”_

“But your schedule is so tight already, you von't get any sleep!”

_“Well, I know I’m not sleeping tonight anyway. Might as well just head over the dining room and start now.”_

“No, you need to rest! Tomorrow is going to be a long day.”

_“I know, but the thought of everything is just so overwhelming! Besides, I'm not tired. I could run a week solely on your smile.”_

Brian couldn’t help but blush and giggle like a school girl. “Stop! Don't make me blush, I'm in public!”

_“But I love you!”_

“I love you more.”

 _“I love_ you _more."_

"I love you even more."

_"I love y- oh, Killian left.”_

“Zat means we can be as cheesy as we want now," Brian laughed. "I miss you so much.”

 _“I miss you too. I don’t know how I’ll survive another twelve hours without seeing you_... _But I will, because there’s no amount of waiting I wouldn’t do for you.”_

“Don’t say zat, I’m almost home already! You know, forget about ze napkins, vhat if ve make some time and meet tonight?”

_“Ha ha! Not a chance! You know what they say about seeing your groom before the wedding.”_

Brian huffed. "Vhat about zose peptalks for following your destiny?"

" _Traditions are kept for a reason! And this, too, is for making sure everything goes as planned tomorrow._ "

A light lit up above Brian’s seat, followed by the voice of the pilot announcing the landing..

“I need to hang up now, my love.”

_“Aw, well, that means there’s less time to wait now to see you tomorrow.”_

“I love you.”

_“I love you more.”_

“Sir,” the flight attendant asked Brian, “please turn off your phone.”

“Iloveyoumorebye!” And he hung up.

Two hours later, Brian hailed a cab out of the space station. Orcus welcomed him in the middle of the night. Everything was quiet, with no faces to be seen around. Brian took in the sight of the city skyline and marveled, like he always did, at the sight of the Emperor’s fortress. The building stood in the center of the city, towering over everything else by at least one hundred feet.

That was nothing compared to seeing it up close.

When he got out of the taxi at the gate, Brian had to tip his head all the way back to see the peak of the tallest tower. Most of the time, the sight of it intimidated him, but not tonight.

Brad awaited him inside, and nothing else in the world mattered.

Usually, a staff member would wait outside to greet him and help with his luggage, but Brian figured everyone was busy inside with the wedding preparations to come tonight, as there was no one around he could see. Well, it wasn’t like he couldn’t take care of himself. Moonlight lit the way enough for his elven eyes to see, and he could carry his own lugagge just fine…

Or so he thought, but the way to the entrance was long, and Brian never carried less than three suitcases with him. “It occurs to me I should’ve called ze staff before,” he said to himself.

“That won’t be necessary,” said a voice next to him.

Brian jumped, maybe screamed a little. Way to surprise someone in the middle of the night! He turned towards the voice ready to call them out on their rudeness when he finally saw the figure standing under the shadow of a tree. He immediately corrected his posture and bowed.

“Your majesty, vhat a lovely surprise! You didn’t have to come greet me this late at night.”

Brad Bradson XXVI looked at Brian with an unreadable expression. He was a big man, the biggest Brian had ever met, and he carried himself with a pride to match. Most rulers wouldn’t walk anywhere without a full team of bodyguards escorting them, but Orcs believed an emperor who couldn’t defend themselves from possible threats wasn’t fit to rule. Of course, back when that law was implanted anyone could ascend to the throne by murdering the current emperor, but the custom stuck, just like those silly wedding traditions Brad liked to follow.

Brian cleared his throat. “Is Brad avake? I vouldn’t vant him to see me like zis, you see, zere’s zis tradition zat dictates couples aren’t supposed to see each ozer before ze ceremony.”

“You can cut the act, it’s only the two of us now.”

A cold wind blew through them, making Brian’s ears twitch.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch zat?”

The emperor walked out of the shadow and Brian could finally see him clearly. He was wearing the suit he had tailored specially for the wedding. It was a bit early to put it on, wasn’t it?

“I didn’t think you’d stick as long as you did, but I gotta say, your commitment to this farce is remarkable.”

Brian’s ears twitched again, but it wasn’t the wind this time. “Excuse me?”

“You think you are the first one to think of this?” Bradson said with a tone of voice someone else would use for smalltalk. “Do you really think no one was tried this before? I’ve had to deal with losers twice your size and half your guts. I thought I’d let you go on until you gave up on your own, for the fun of it, but you aren't giving up..”

While Bradson kept his neutral stance, Brian was slowly losing his composure. Was this man really implying he didn’t want to marry Brad? Brian couldn’t help clenching his fist, but better that than outright yelling at his future father-in-law. “Sir, you have a _very vrong_ impression about me.”

“Do I now? I admit I wasn’t expecting you’d be back after your poor excuse of an emergency last week,” Bradson chuckled. “A lost pet spider, really? Well, I’ve heard worse.”

“That vas not- Listen, I don’t know vhy you vould zink I could lie about an emergency like zat, but I assure you, I have no plans on dropping out. I _love_ Brad.”

The emperor broke into a strained laugh. “ _Har, har, har!_ ” It made Brian’s ears ring and clench his eyes. When he finally opened them, Bradson was standing closer now, towering over him like the fortress over every other building in the city. “That’s where all of you fools get it wrong. You really think I’m going to believe anyone could marry Brad for love?”

That was it.

For a blissful moment, Brian forgot who he was talking to, what the protocols demanded, how anything he said now could have consequences, all of that was gone, because no one, not even the Emperor of Orcus, disrespected Brad in front of him. “How dare you speak of Brad like zat! Your own son! He is ze kindest person I’ve ever met-!”

“Kindness?” The emperor said. “Is that really the only redeeming quality you could think of? And you say you love him?”

Brian didn’t know how to answer that, but his courage didn’t leave him. “More zan anyzing in my life. Vhy vould I marry him if not?”

Though he didn’t realize this until hours later, when he looked back on the events of that night, Brian was very lucky the Emperor found his little outburst just then amusing. When Bradson talked to Brian he did so with the certainty one has when they think they’ve already won an argument. “ _Vhy_ ,” he said, mimicking Brian’s accent, “I wonder? Why would a lowlife scientist want to marry into the family of an Emperor?”

The meaning of the Emperor’s words came over Brian and took with it the anger he felt, replacing it with a new type of disgust and _shame_ for such a thought.

“You zink… you zink I vant _your money_?”

After uttering these words, Bradson’s calm demeanor shifted. His expression was deathly serious now, and it was a good thing Brian’s bravado had left, because he wouldn’t take kindly to any disrespect. “I don’t think. I _know_ for a fact that you and my son met through one of your projects, projects he now wants to fund.”

Brian stuttered, “No! I mean, zat is true, but-”

“And aren’t those suitcases stuffed with clothes he bought? Even this wedding is being paid and hosted by our family.”

“You are _vrong_!”

The Emperor glared at him.

For the first time that night, Brian was made aware of how truly, really small he himself was.

“I won’t hear any more of it. You’ll do everyone a favour if you leave now and let him find out the truth on his own tomorrow morning.”

“You vant me to leave Brad at ze altar?” As if he hadn’t stood for himself just a minute ago, Brian stumbled to find the words this time. “But zat vould break his heart,” he almost whispered.

It was loud enough for Bradson to hear. “Maybe that’ll teach him not to fall in love with the first phony who calls him ‘kind’.”

“Don’t you care about your own son’s feelings?!”

“ _I care about his future,_ ” the Emperor said _._ “One day, he will rule over our world, and there’s no place for a _scientist_ ,” and he hissed this word like it tasted bad in his mouth, “next to him on the throne.”

“Brad doesn’t care about ruling.”

“He will.”

Bradson walked past Brian in the direction of the mansion without another word. Brian looked at him go without moving from his spot in the middle of the yard. The wind was chilling him to the bone. He wanted to stay. He wanted to run towards Brad and take him away from this place, but he knew the Emperor would catch him before that. What could Brian ever do to make the strongest man in the planet turn around and listen to him?

“Vhat if I earned my place in your family?”

He said this without thinking, and when Bradson stopped, a new sense of fear came over him, but Brian stood firm in his place.

Bradson didn’t turn around to face Brian as he spoke. “You? Don’t make me laugh. We come from different worlds, and I’m not talking about race. There’s nothing you can do that would ever be on the level of the Bradson bloodline.”

“But I can do somezing your family never could,” he breathed in, then out, and clenched his fists —not out of anger this time, but determination— as he said: “I know vhere Phandelver is.”

And _that_ got Bradson’s attention.

He turned around. “… What did you just say?”

Brian had been arguing his posture for years now, he had repeated every point, word for word over a dozen times. “I have evidence to prove it’s real. Zere are accounts that date from zousands of years-”

Air left Brian’s lungs as Bradson picked him up by his collar and pushed him against a tree. “I know Phandelver is real! My ancestors fought that war, they _saw_ the moon vanish by the hand of those cowardly Dwarves. What I want to know is what makes _you_ think you can find it after we didn’t for hundreds of years?!”

Brian tried to speak under the Emperor’s hold to no avail, so Bradson let him go. After a moment to catch his breath back, Brian finally said, “Ze moon is back on Phandalin. Zere have been some accidents, somezing is messing up the orbit, zough I doubt you heard of it, zey are covering it up.”

“And you think this could be it?”

“I’ve never been more certain of anyzing in my life… except of my love for your son.”

Bradson glared at him, but if he thought that last part was a joke again, he didn’t show.

“Give me your ring.”

Brian instinctively clutched his hand closer. “No.”

“If you really want a chance for proving your worth to me, then give me that ring, and I’ll keep it until you make true to that promise.”

In the end, if begrudgingly, Brian took off his ring and gave it to the Emperor, who examined it with curiosity. Its tiny, Elf size, was almost comical next to his Orc fingers.

“Here’s what you’ll do: when you bring Phandelver to me, and only after that, you will get this back, and you’ll have my blessing to marry Brad.”

The way he talked like Brad belonged to him was threatening to make Brian lose his temper again, but he controlled himself this time. Besides, there was one part about what he had just said that worried him even more. “Vhat do you mean, _bring_ Phandelver to you?”

“What you heard.” He closed his fist around the ring and stored inside his coat pocket like it wasn’t worth anything to him. “That moon was supposed to be ours anyway.”

“You vant me to _move_ a moon?!”

“It’s not that hard, see,” and he pointed at the five satellites orbiting Orcus in the night. “My people has been doing it for ages, and with far less sophisticated technology than you can find nowadays. I’m sure it’s no challenge for someone as smart as you. Or you mean to tell me your love for my son is not enough to bring him the moon?”

“I vould bring him ze sun if he asked me,” Brian said like it was a fact.

“Even I know that’s impossible, but just Phandelver will do. Now you better get going, my patience is wearing thin, but I wonder how long can Brad wait before forgetting about you.”

The thought broke Brian’s heart. “Vait, can’t I even say goodbye?”

The Emperor glared at him. Brian feared he would push him against the gate again, but he didn’t come close to him this time. His words hurt more than anything. “Don’t speak a word of this to him, because it will be my word against yours.”

And he walked away a final time.

Once Brian had wrapped his mind around what just happened, he too walked away, in the opposite direction, and never looked back.

***

Killian understood.

“So, I guess ze reason I did all of zis vas… love.” Brian said, half laughing. “I did it for love.”

She understood. After a month, it was what she had wanted the most (after punching Brian and taking him back home, in that order). Killian didn’t feel any satisfaction in it, but deep down it was good to know this was still the Brian she knew.

Understanding was the hardest part.

Killian couldn’t justify it.

“How could you think this would work?” She said. “Taking the moon with you? He asked for something he knew you couldn’t possibly do alone!”

Brian was offended by that. “Vhat else vas I supposed to do? It was ze only option he gave me!”

“I don’t know, maybe ask for help? If you had told me, or Madame Director-”

“You vouldn’t have listened! She never believed me vhen I told her _before_ , do you zink ze people at the Bureau vould’ve helped? Even if I told zem vhat vas at stake?”

“I’m not talking about the moon, Brian, I’m talking about Brad! Why didn’t you tell us the emperor was threatening you?”

“Because I vas scared of him!” He snapped. “I still am, and vhatever he can tell Brad if I try to speak against him! Do you seriously believe I didn’t zink about zis a million times? Do you zink I chose to run avay viz all of zis because it vas ze easiest option? Ze easiest option vas giving up, zis vas the only one vhere I had a chance to see-” Brian choked on a sob.

Killian gasped. She had been prepared to deal with everything. Everything except this.

“To see Brad again. And now, even if I do, I don’t know if he’ll ever forgive me for leaving him.”

Killian was far from satisfied, and still pretty much angry at Brian for everything he had done, plus all the other things he hadn’t, like telling her, his damn best friend, what was going on.

But she was his best friend, after all.

She wrapped her arms around Brian and he hugged her back. It was awkward with both wearing suits, their heads couldn’t even touch under the glass of the helmets, but Brian held onto her for a long time, probably crying all of the tears he hadn’t allowed himself to this past month. It was so much, Killian felt like some of those tears were damping the inside of her own helmet, but she didn’t say anything about those. She tried not to sniffle into her radio.

“He found my ring,” Brian said, voice still hoarse from crying. “Brad probably zinks I don’t love him anymore. Killian, I don’t know vhat I’ll do if he doesn’t love me.”

“He still loves you.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because he told me just a few days ago, and _after_ finding your ring.”

Brian leaned back from Killian and looked at her with eyes wide open. “He did?”

“Yep, so at least that’s something you can stop worrying about.”

Brian raised a hand to his face and tried to wipe away his tears, only to find the glass getting in the way. He laughed, instead. “ _Danke_.”

“We can still go back,” Killian said, “find Brad, tell him everything.”

“I vish it vas zat simple.”

“It doesn’t need to be this complicated either.” Killian said, almost scolding, like she used to back when they were still planning the wedding. “Besides, we already found a moon that wasn’t supposed to exist, how hard can this be?”

Brian sighed. “Killian, you’ve lived on Orcus longer zan I did. I’m being serious, pulling Phandelver out of zis pocket dimension vill be vay easier zan facing off against ze Emperor.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”

Both turned around to see Gundren pointing at them with a laser gun.


	19. Killian Punches Brian in the Face

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Killian punches Brian in the face

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content Warning: violence (from Killian punching Brian in the face):

Two clicks more followed when Tharden and Nundro pointed their guns at them Killian and Brian were surrounded.

“Careful zere, my friend,” Brian said, “zat zing is pretty dangerous.”

“That’s why I’m pointing it at you!” Gundren snapped at him. “I don’t care about your motivations, I’ll never let you take Phandelver from us.”

“Gundren, please put the gun down,” Killian said. “We can talk about this like civilized people.”

“Oh, just like your people wanted to talk with mine during the war? Your kind doesn’t understand reason, so why should we?”

“Because it won’t be good for you guys when my friends get here and see you pointing guns at us.”

Gunder snorted. “You asked them to stay behind.”

“Yes,” Killian continued calmly, “but they are not good at following instructions.”

Nobody heard Carey sneak behind Gundren until her gun clicked against his back. “Drop the weapon.”

Magnus and Taako also ran behind Tharden and Nundro. Merle stayed out while they took care of that. You don’t point guns at family.

Gundren followed Carey’s orders with a grunt, and he didn’t resist when Carey started to tie his hands behind his back. “How long have you been there?”

“A while,” Carey said. “We got here like, ten minutes ago? But Killian and Brian were having a moment and we didn’t want to interrupt like you did. Rude much?”

“It vas pretty rude, yes,” Brian said. He seemed more offended at the interruption than the threat of violence. He turned to Killian. “But I’m amazed. How did you know Gundren vas going to betray you?”

“I didn’t. This precaution was for you.”

Followed by that, Magnus, Merle and Taako stood behind Brian with arms crossed. Brian laughed. “Fair enough.”

Carey sneaked past Killian and pointed at Brian with one of her sharp claws. An effective intimidation tactic when they weren’t covered by gloves. “You heard my friend, rascal! Don’t try anything funny or we’ll end your shit.”

Brian scoffed. “It’ll take more zan a group of lovable doofuses to take me down, as I already told _my_ friend.”

“Wanna bet?” Magnus said. He approached Brian menacingly.

“Ve don’t need to be on opposite sides,” Brian said to him, smiling despite the difference in size between him and Magnus. “Don’t you vant to be known as ze crew who brought back ze lost moon of Phandelver? Zat’s vhat Gundren vas using you for, but I assure you, he vasn’t going to let you in on ze revards.”

Taako put a hand on Magnus’ raising arm. “What rewards are we talking about?”

“Fame, glory, respect from ze scientific community. Oh, and I vould pay you twice vhat he’s offering.”

“He pays five grand each.”

“Alright, I’ll pay ten.”

“Wait, it was that easy? Fuck, I should have said a bigger number.”

Merle put his hands on his hips. “Hey, that’s _my_ planet’s moon you are offering!”

Taako huffed. “Fine, we’ll rename the moon after you so it still has a Dwarven name.”

“Woah, can you do that?”

“Merle!” Yelled the three Rockseeker brothers from the ground.

“That’s enough!” Killian said. “Stop involving my friends in an interplanetary incident.”

“Vhat incident?” Brian spoke like he had already planned what to say to that question. “Phandelver has been lost for centuries, it doesn’t belong to anyone anymore.”

“That doesn’t mean what you are doing isn’t wrong!”

“I’m re _discovering_ , Killian! I did something nobody zought possible, not ze scientific community, not ze Orcs, not even ze Dwarves! But once I close zis pocket in space and get zis moon out once for all-”

“You won’t be doing any of that!” Interrupted Gundren.

“Please, Gundren, ve already talked about zis.”

“You have no idea how pocket dimensions work, you are not taking this moon anywhere.”

“I zink I have a pretty decent idea of how to close a pocket dimension. You told me, remember?.”

“Too bad doing that will destroy everything inside, moon included.”

Brian’s smile faded. “Vhat did you say?”

“Closing a pocket is the _last_ thing you do, you imbecile! You need to get the moon out first!”

Brian grabbed Gundren by the shoulders and started shaking him frantically. “Zat is not vhat you told me! You said all I had to do vas getting ze power to shut zis zing down!”

“And after you betrayed me I knew I was right not to trust you!”

“You vill tell me everything, or else-”

“What, you’re going to _kill me_? I rather be dead than let you take Phandelver away.”

Brian raised his hand against Gundren, but the Dwarf didn’t flinch. Gundren had already won, and both of them knew it.

Killian put a hand on Brian’s shoulder, and he lowered his arm.

“It vas all for nothing, zen?”

“Brian, get up.”

He did so, but all the confidence he showed before had vanished. “Vhat am I going to do now, Killian?”

Killian sighed. Winning now wasn’t giving her any satisfaction either. “You already proved everyone wrong. Phandelver is real.”

“Zat doesn’t matter,” he said. “I don’t care about fame or glory, all I ever vanted vas to see Brad again.”

Killian grabbed her pocket out of her phone, unlocking it and opening her contacts list. “Then tell him.”

Brian stared at the phone with fear, like he didn’t know what to do with it, but Killian insisted so he took it. Brad’s number was among the first on the screen. He gave Killian one last look, and when she nodded in encouragement, Brian finally gathered up enough courage to press the call button.

The line ringed for a minute. Killian worried it might be late over there, she hadn’t checked the time in forever… 

Then Brad finally picked up. Over speaker, she could hear him say, _“Killian, I’m sorry, this isn’t the best time to talk…”_

“Brad,” said Brian; his voice was barely strong enough to be heard by everyone around them, but on the other side of the line, Brad’s breathing came to a halt.

“ _Brian,_ ” he whispered, and that one word carried more emotion than any he had shown in the past month. The relief was so strong Killian felt it too. “ _Oh my god, Brian, I missed you so m-_ ”

The line got cut.

Brian stared at the phone in confusion. “Brad? Brad, can you hear me?”

Killian took the phone, but all the relief she had felt was quickly being poisoned by a growing sense of danger. The call was ended on the other side, but before she could press the button to call again, the sound of a phone ringing stopped her.

Brian was taken by surprise too, specially since the ringing was coming from his own phone. When he saw the name on the screen, though, the recognition was evident. Recognition, and fear. “It’s ze Emperor.”

A chill ran down Killian’s spine, recalling the sudden end of Brad’s call and fearing the worst. “Put him on speaker.”

Brian did so. At first, no sound came from the other end. “Hello?”

_“I said,”_ came a low growl, _“you weren’t allowed to talk to Brad.”_

Brian’s hand started shaking. “How did you know-?”

_“He thinks he’s so smart,”_ Bradson cut him _, “acting behind my back, like I don’t know everything that goes around this place.”_

Brian’s fear was overtaken by anger. He clutched the phone with such strength Killian feared it would break. “What have you done to him?!”

_“Nothing that couldn’t have been avoided. Now he won’t be doing anything stupid without my consent.”_ Bradson said like he was talking about anything else, like fixing a broken chair, mowing the lawn, changing a lightbulb. Not his own son’s behavior. _“I thought finding your ring was enough to make him give up on that useless mission to find you, since he wasn’t brave enough to go after you himself. Is the poor woman he convinced with you?”_

Killian sneered, even if the man on the other side of the phone couldn’t look at her. Or maybe she only did it because he couldn’t. “I came here _on my own_.”

Bradson huffed, but he didn’t adress her further. _“Our deal was that you would bring the moon alone. Asking for help is cheating.”_

“This is not what you think, I-”

“You are not getting your hands on _our_ moon!” Gundren exclaimed.

Brian looked at him with horror. Before he could say anything, he was interrupted by the voice on the other side of the phone.

_“Rockseeker_ ,” Bradson said, _“what an unpleasant surprise.”_

“I could say the same,” Gundren spat on the ground. “I knew your family never gave up on our war, no matter how many years of hypocritical diplomacy you made us go through! But your impossible plan failed, and it only helped us find Phandelver. You won’t have any of this, you hear me!”

The voice on the other end growled. _“Very well, it was worth a try.”_

“Vait,” Brian said. “I’m still the one who found it first. I have proof. I- I can give you all the credit!”

_“The deal was the moon,”_ Bradson said, and the line got cut.

“No! Vait! No, no, no, no!” Brian tried to call back, but no one picked up.

Killian tried to call Brad again, only for an automated message to tell her the number was disconnected. “Brian, I’m so sorry-”

“Don’t,” he cut her off. “Zis is all my fault. I vasn’t ready to let Brad go and now because of me he is- he-“ Brian was starting to lose himself again.

“Okay, I’ve had enough!”

Carey walked past Killian and got in front of Brian.

“What are you doing?” Killian whispered.

“What _you_ should have done like an hour ago,” she said, and proceeded to kick Brian in the gut.

Brian bent over in pain. “V-vhat vas zat for?!”

Carey grabbed the front of his suit and dragged him until their helmets bumped.

“I was stuck inside a spaceship the size of a car for three weeks. Three weeks! I’m fucking claustrophobic, man! And Killian even longer than me! But we never gave up on this clusterfuck of a moon mission to find you and my friends and save the day, so you are not giving up now either!”

“Vat?!”

“You are going back to the man you love, and you are going to rescue him from his evil villain dad!”

Brian opened his eyes wide. “You zink I can just- You don’t know vhat you’re talking about!”

“Dude, you literally tried to steal a moon from another dimension TODAY.”

“Yes, because even zat vould be easier zan trying to go against ze Orc emperor alone.”

“Well, you are not alone anymore!” Carey exclaimed, and she pointed at Killian, Magnus, Taako, Merle.

Merle blinked. “Wait, us too?”

“Oh, hell yeah! I love love!” Magnus said.

“Just to make sure,” Taako said, “we _are_ still getting paid, right?”

Brian didn’t really think much about the boys, but Killian…

“I already told you,” she said, “I’m your maid of honor, it’s my job to make sure you and Brad’s wedding goes along as planned.”

Tears appeared on Brian’s eyes, and he couldn’t fight them this time.

Someone cleared his throat. “Not to be that person but,” Taako said, “we still need to get out of here.”

“Fuck, I forgot about that!” Carey exclaimed. “Our ship is busted, we never got to repair it. How long will that take, Killian?”

Killian hummed in thought. “Assuming we find replacements here, one week.”

“One week?!”

“Actually,” Brian said, “my ship is still intact.”

Everyone stared at him.

“You had a working ship all this time?!” Merle exclaimed, “Why didn’t you say anything?!”

“I didn’t know you vere here. I vould’ve sent you back veeks ago if you only asked.”

“But not before trying to kidnap us, right?” Gundren spatted.

Brian feigned innocence. “Oh, can’t you leave ze past in ze past?”

Taako walked between them and said, “How about we shut the fuck up and get the hell out of here?”

“I can only do one of those things” Yelled Gundren, still on the floor, still tied up.

Killian exchanged looks with Brian. “You owe them.”

Brian sighed. “Fine, I’ll take you back to Phandalin,” he leaned towards Gundren again. “But if you try anyzing funny, I know an itsy-bitsy spider who _loves_ to play viz naughty boys.”

The three brothers gulped. “Aye,” they said in unison.

“Hold on,” Magnus said, “are we riding with the spider?”

Carey pushed him forward.

“Maybe I should stay here.”

”Not a chance.”

“What about the generators?” Magnus went on. “Someone has to make sure they don’t blow up the moon, right?”

“Magnus!”

“Okay, I’m coming!”

Brian’s ship was big, though it was hard to appreciate the extra space with four Dwarves, two Elves, a Dragonborn, an Orc, and a giant spider taking up every available space.

“Maybe we should make two trips?” Magnus tried to say, but his voice was drowned by the sound of the engine revving up.

Killian looked outside the window as the lost, now found moon of Phandelver was left behind, and only then the whole weight of everything finally hit her.

“You really did it,” she started laughing. “You absolute madman, you found the fucking lost moon of Phandelver.”

And then, the moon was gone. They had crossed over the boundary of the pocket dimension that had hidden it for so long, and in front of them appeared Phandalin again. Only after the gravity pull warning was turned off Brian allowed himself to lay back and take his space suit off like everyone else. He was laughing too. “See? You should’ve trusted me vhen I said I vould-”

Killian punched Brian in the face.

“Hell yeah!” Carey yelled, and everyone on the ship started clapping.

Brian was pushed off his chair into the floor. He was still laughing. “I really deserved zat one.”


	20. The Way Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry catches up. Killian has a revelation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorryforthehiatusagain ANYWAY ENJOY

“So, uh, let me get this straight,” Barry started. “Phandelver is real.”

“Yes,” Carey said.

“Which is where the guys crashed for the past weeks.”

“Yes.”

“And it was discovered by a guy who wanted to _steal_ it.”

“Yes.”

“But now we’re helping him rescue his fiancee.”

“Yes.”

“Who is an Orc prince.”

“Yes, but Killian insists we don’t call him that.”

“And he’s trapped inside the emperor’s mansion.”

“Yes.”

“In Orcus.”

“Yes.”

“Which is where we’re headed right now."

“Yes.”

“That’s it?”

Carey, Magnus and Taako nodded.

“Okay,” Barry raised his jar of ale and downed it in one go. Then he took Magnus’ jar and downed it too. Then Taako’s. Then Carey’s.

“Atta boy.” Taako said.

“You okay, bud?” Magnus asked.

“Yeah,” Barry said after he was done. “Yeah, sure. It’s just, you _do_ know this is suicide, right?”

“I mean,” Magnus tried, “it’s not the dumbest thing we’ve done.”

“No, I’m pretty sure this is, actually, the dumbest thing we’ve ever done, and we’ve done some really dumb shit! This is the Orc Emperor’s home! For all we know, it could be a fortress!”

“But we don’t _know_ that,” Magnus exclaimed optimistically.

Barry stared at him in horror. “Wait, you don’t even know the layout of the place?!”

Carey shrugged. “Brian has been there, he can give us some insight.”

“What about the staff?”

“It’s a mansion,” Magnus said. “Don’t they have, like, butlers and shit?”

“Do you even know,” Barry said, slowly, just on the verge of losing all shit and screaming in despair, “where they’re keeping the not-prince?”

Carey and the boys exchanged looks like middle schoolers caught without their homework.

“You know,” Taako said, “it does sound dumb when he puts it like that.”

“But we’re dumber!” Magnus exclaimed, banging on the table for emphasis.

Barry took his glasses off and sighed. He probably thought there was no use in reasoning their plan -or lack thereof- anymore. “Aren’t you guys even a little scared?”

After Barry voiced all of these very reasonable concerns, Carey began to worry. Well, was this really dumber than anything else they’d done? Magnus rushed into things without thinking, Merle rarely knew what was going on around him, Taako was “secretly” dating that guy who tried to kill them, and Carey herself had an habit of getting caught, because escaping custody was easier than avoiding notice. None of that really approached the “infiltrating an Orc fortress” level of dumb.

“Guys, this might be the dumbest thing we’ve ever done,” Carey finally said.

She felt so tired already. This whole thing had been going on for weeks, and who knows how long they will take just on the way back.

“True, but this is the first time someone’s life depends on us.”

Everyone stared at Magnus.

“What?” He said. “Okay, maybe it’s not a _life or death_ situation.”

“No, you’re right!” Carey said. “We’re doing something good for once!”

“Us?” Taako scoffed. “It’s a little late for us to be the good guys.”

“Now, don’t say that!” Magnus slapped Taako’s back _really_ hard. “It’s never too late to take a new path in your life! Take it from me!”

“Ouch! I’m older than you, and all of your ages combined,” Taako said, but he didn’t protest against the plan any further.

“So,” Carey looked at Barry, “are you in?”

Barry joined his palms in front of his face and inhaled, then exhaled, then inhaled again. “Fine.”

“Cheers to that!” Magnus tried to grab his jar of beer, but found it empty.

Unfortunately, they didn’t have time for another round. Carey’s phone rang.

“It’s Killian," she announced, "let’s go!”

***

In the parking lot, Killian and Merle were waiting for them outside Brian’s ship, each carrying a couple gallons of fuel.

“You need help with that?” Magnus offered.

“Yes,” Merle gave Magnus both of his bottles and dusted his hands. “It was starting to hurt my back, thank you.”

“Oof, I meant just one, you lazy old Dwarf!”

“I’ve already done all the important work! Thanks to me, my cousins won’t press charges against spider guy for trying to steal the moon.”

“Jesus, I’m not drunk enough for this,” Barry said.

“You better get used to it,” Carey said, “we’re going to be dealing with each other for a while aboard that ship, and if it takes as long as it took me, it’s going to be a _long_ while.”

It took a couple seconds through Barry’s drunken haze to register what Carey had just said. “Wait, you got here on a ship!”

“Uh, yeah? Didn’t you notice when we met the other day?”

“I did, but I forgot you hate closed spaces! How did you even endure that for three weeks?”

Carey shrugged. “My friends needed me. Besides…” she looked at Killian as she carried fuel aboard the ship. She looked briefly at Carey and smiled, and Carey couldn’t help but smiled back. “I guess it isn’t so bad once you get used to it. And if I can, then you can too! These are going to be the most epic three weeks of our lives!”

“Zree veeks? Good heavens, zat is a lot of time! I can’t let Brad vait for me any longer.”

“Sorry, buddy, but the only way to cross that distance in less than three weeks is quantum jumping, and unless your ship can do that-”

“Ja, ve’re jumping.”

Carey had to replay Brian’s words on her head at least three times, because she couldn’t believe what she just heard. She looked at Killian. “This ship can jump?!”

Killian laughed loudly. “What do you think all of this fuel is for?”

“I vasn’t going to make a trip from Neverwinter on a- Oof!”

Brian was interrupted by a very small Dragonborn hugging him very hard. “THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU.”

***

A three week trip got shortened to five days. For a small sized engine, three days of travel could be covered in ten minutes, but the cool down lasted about ten hours. All in all, it was a good trade.

They took turns driving during the cool down, which left Killian with enough free time to get a proper rest after everything they had gone through so far… well, at least that’s what Carey told her, but Killian couldn’t sit still yet.

So of course, the first thing she did when she got a moment to herself was call Madame Director, who took the news of Phandelver being real with more composure than Killian.

“ _So he was right all along.”_

“You don’t sound surprised.”

“ _I’m bean freaked,”_ she said in a monotone voice, “ _but is only wise to admit when one is wrong.”_

“Doesn’t make it any easier,” Killian said.

_“However,_ ” the Director went on, and ah, there it was. The smallest shift in tone, _“neither his professional nor personal motives excuse any of his actions.”_

“I know.”

On the other side, the Director sighed. _“I guess we’re not without fault either. Maybe if I had been more open to his findings…”_

“We had no way to know,” Killian said. “Even if Brian was right in the end, most of the evidence he had was circumstantial. Besides, you weren’t the one who threatened him.”

A brief pause, unnoticeable to anyone who hadn’t worked with the Director, but Killian knew when it came to her every single second was accounted for. She was thinking hard about this.

The Director was the last person to see Brian before he disappeared, just before the wedding, when the spider under her custody broke free of its cage and she had to call for his help.

It was also Killian’s idea that Brian stayed there a little longer, for his nerves. She feared the last minute stress of the wedding would drive him mad.

_“You’re right,”_ Madame Director said, breaking Killian out of her own guilt, _“there’s no use in dwelling on this now. We still need to decide his punishment when you two come back.”_

Killian tensed up. “Right.”

_“I assume you’re on your way already. When can I expect you here?”_

She hesitated. Killian hadn’t told the Director about their plans to save Brad yet, figured she wouldn’t be happy about the prospect of them getting into even more trouble.

“Two weeks, give or take a couple days.” It was a rough estimate of how much it would take to reach Orcus, and then from there to Neverwinter. Killian didn’t have to mention the exact nature of their detour, or that there would be a detour at all.

Another pause, and for a moment Killian feared the Director could feel she wasn’t telling her everything…

_“Very well,”_ she finally said. _“And Killian,_ _I know this is obvious, but don’t take your eyes off Brian. We can’t lose him again.”_

“I won’t,” and at least she meant that.

The call ended.

Killian stared at her phone for a moment before turning back, but she didn’t return to the cabin, where Carey and her friends caught up on their missed time. Having more people around was good for a distraction, but still, soon after the trip started, Killian found herself coming to the basement for a little breath. This part of the ship was mostly empty, save for the spider, which kept everyone away, and Brian.

“Ah, Killian, I vas vondering vhen you’d come by,” he said cheerfully. “I know crowded places aren’t of your liking.”

“Don’t say that, it’s not like I hate people.”

“You just get overvhelmed, I know. Ve’re quite ze introverts aren’t ve?”

Killian Scoffed. “You’re not an introvert.”

“I am, vith strangers, and zey don’t seem to enjoy my company eizer.” Brian shrugged, “I can’t blame zem.”

Neither could Killian, but she didn’t say that outloud. She sat next to Brian in the soft floor. Spider Bryan had turned this part of the ship into a nest, and now everything was covered in its silky web. The spider rested in the middle, looking at the two of them with too many eyes.

“You really traveled all ze vay from Nevervinter on a cargo ship?” There was an implied _For me?_ in that phrase.

Killian shrugged. “It wasn’t that bad. I mean, it’s kinda tedious, but I was so focused on finding you that most of it went by without me noticing.”

“I can’t even imagine doing all of zat on my own. Even I had Bryan viz me during zese tiring veeks.”

The giant spider cooed in that weird, hissy arachnid way, and Brian reached forward to scratch it under its jaws.

“Zose vere some scary days, veren’t zey, my boy? Yes, zey vere. So scary!”

“I’m glad you at least had _someone_ to talk about this mess,” Killian joked, not without some degree of truth to her words. “Besides, I didn’t do this alone.”

“Right, your new _best friend_ Carey vas viz you,” Brian pouted. “I only leave for a monz and you replace me.”

Killian pushed him. “Don’t be dramatic! If I had replaced you I wouldn’t be here.”

“I know, I know, I vas just teasing.” He rested his face on his hand and leaned forward, still petting Bryan with the other. “But I’m surprised! You don’t make friends easily.”

Killian huffed. “Well, maybe, but Carey is really easy to get along with. When I’m with her…” she shrugged, “I don’t know how to describe it. You’ve met her.”

Brian smiled. “I have now. Vere did ze two of you meet again?”

Killian recalled their encounter at the Gaia Belt weeks ago and smiled. “It’s a funny story, actually. She was running from the guard.”

Brian let out high pitched laugh. “Oh, good heavens, she’s a criminal?! And you just took her viz you?!”

“I don’t know! I wasn’t going to leave her alone! And this criminal helped me find _your_ ass, so don’t even think about calling her that to her face.”

Brian was wheezing now. “And I zought my origin story viz Brad vas dramatic, but yours takes ze cake!”

By now, it was hard for Killian not to laugh too. “What drama? I introduced you to him, you know, like normal friends do.”

“Normal friends don’t forget to mention ze sweet nerd I’d been flirting viz for six monzs vas a prince.”

“Brad is not-”

Brian raised an eyebrow at Killian.

“Well, it’s hard for me to think of him as royalty or whatever! I saw him wearing nothing but Minions shirts all of fourth grade!”

Brian sighed dreamily. “He really loves zose yellow little bastards.”

“He’s a nerd, Brian, you’re marrying a nerd. I don’t even know why would you compare him to Carey…”

Wait.

And then Killian noticed, Brian wasn’t only leaning with his head on his hand, he was in his _gossip_ position.

_Wait._

“This is _not_ like that,” she bluntly said.

“Oh? I haven’t said anyzing yet.”

“I know exactly what you’re thinking, but you’re wrong.”

“Zat’s funny,” Brian said in a sing-song voice, “because it really seems to me you like Carey.”

A sudden wave of warmth invaded Killian. She felt her face _burn._ “That’s-! I’m-! Why would you-!” she stammered.

“Am I vrong?”

“No. Yes! Ugh!” She covered her face with both hands. “Don’t talk! Let me think what to say for a minute.”

“Killian,” Brian wrapped her shoulders with one arm, “Killian, Killian, Killian, my sweet summer child. Zere’s nozing here to zink! Love can’t be put into vords!”

“Then _shut up_.”

Brian did shut up, but that knowing smile never left his face. Killian didn’t think of getting mad at him for that, as her mind was still busy running the last three weeks on repeat and looking for the exact moment where she had stopped seeing Carey as just a friend.

Oh gods, _she liked Carey_.

“You really didn’t notice?”

“Let me remind you, I was too busy trying to find you on a moon inside another dimension.”

Brian laughed. “Okay, zat is the only acceptable excuse. But now zat’s been taken over, you can tell her!”

Killian looked at Brian like he just suggested going back into Phandelver and trying to steal it again. “What?! I’m not going to tell her now!”

“Vhy not?”

“ _I_ just found out I have a crush on her! I still have… a lot to think about.”

Brian opened his mouth, ready to spew more bullshit about love or whatever, but Killian stopped him with one hand motion.

“Brian, please. You may have more experience in this than me, but I’m not you, and Carey is not Brad.”

“Vell, obviously you’re ze Brad of ze relationship.”

“ _Besides_ ,” Killian added, purposefully ignoring that weird comparison, ”we’re still in the middle of a mission to rescue him.”

At the mention of that, and for the first time since they had left Phandalin, Brian’s mask of cheerfulness fell, giving space for all the worry and guilt to manifest on the outside. “I know.”

Brian hugged the spider’s neck and sighed.

Killian recalled the conversation she just had with the Director. Brian was a criminal now, one even worse than Carey. After Orcus, he had to answer to the Bureau of Balance, and to her. Killian herself hadn’t fully forgiven him yet.

But right now, all of that could wait.

Killian wrapped an arm around Brian and sat with him in silence, because she was her best friend first, and everything else second.

**Author's Note:**

> If you like what we do (or just want to chat), check our social media!
> 
> Ara (Header and scene artist): [Tumblr ](https://kidskylark.tumblr.com)|[Twitter](https://twitter.com/kidskylark)  
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